Q&A: STITCH Alum Giovana Gelhoren Talks Entertainment, Representation

Graphic by Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez

Giovana Gelhoren (Medill ‘22) has always been obsessed with fashion and pop culture. She was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so she wanted to leave Brazil to gain independence and explore a new setting. Northwestern was the perfect place for her to explore her interests through journalism.

North by Northwestern and Spoon University is where Gelhoren began her journey and eventually joined STITCH as an Editorial Staffer. The former Editor-in-Chief (21-’22) has led some of the most iconic issues to date, including The Art, Body and Academia Issues.

Gelhoren sat down with STITCH to talk about her experience at NU, lifechanging moments during her career and how the magazine had a crucial role in her journey as an Entertainment Writer. 

STITCH: What drove you to join STITCH as an Editorial Staffer? 

Gelhoren: For the longest time, I thought I was going to get into fashion. I remember [at] the org fair in my first quarter, I asked what we needed to apply and they [said] a couple of samples. I [didn’t] have samples in English. So, I started getting some samples and started finding myself in journalism [through STITCH and NBN]. I think STITCH is so fun. I feel like it's a freedom of expression; you kind of do whatever. I feel like even today, these previous covers have been so incredible and so out of the box, and it's just been so fun. 

STITCH: Why did you decide to become STITCH’s Editor in Chief?

Gelhoren: One of the reasons that I wanted to be EIC at that time was to be one of those people who could bring [STITCH] back. I was like ‘I'm gonna make meetings so fun’ and I'm gonna bring back that energy that maybe we lost [during the pandemic]. We would do Kahoots and we would do brainstorms in person. I had a great co-EIC with me at the time (Grace Lougheed) and we worked together. Grace loved putting things together and making sure that we were in line with our goals and I was bringing in the spirit, the enjoyment and the community aspect to it.

STITCH: Was there a favorite photoshoot that you recall from your time being EIC at STITCH?

Gelhoren: I have a special thing with The Art Issue, because my freshman-year roommate, Rwan, is in it. I'm so in love with her in this. There's something about just having these three black women who are so immensely beautiful but also so proud and to have Rwan as someone who wears a hijab and it looks so incredible and model-esque and just looks like a painting. I was so proud of this one. I remember seeing the photos for the first time and having goosebumps.

STITCH: Do you have a favorite article that you wrote?

Gelhoren: I do remember one when I was a Print Managing Editor, I wrote about love stories and the pandemic. At the time I was like dating someone in the pandemic and we were living together and I was just so interested to see what other couples have been dealing with and how they are living together now.

I would just talk to them and be like, do you guys cook together? Like, what do you get? Like, I knew everything about them. I craved a little bit of connection at the time too, so it was nice to work on it and get to know my friends who were in the same boat as me. I think two of the three couples I interviewed got married already, so it's kind of cool. 

STITCH: For you, how was the transition from STITCH to People Magazine?

Gelhoren: My time at STITCH helped me learn by writing the stories, editing the stories and putting things together. When it came to actually working for People, yes it was a boot camp of how to write quickly, how to write well and how to write clean copies of everything. But, it also was like at least I had all of my time previously working at STITCH where I could write, edit, publish, and feel super confident about my work.

STITCH: As a Latina, how have you found your place at She Knows?

Gelhoren: She Knows is a lifestyle brand for parents. I'm not a parent myself and I'm again a little bit in that constraint of the publication. I'm very proud of who I am and very proud of being Brazilian and being Latina. And it is such a big part of my life that I will go out of my way to take on Latina filmmakers, actors and cool opportunities. As part of a brand that isn't a Latina brand, it's unfortunately not going to be part of my job every single day. But, I think the more that I put that out there, hopefully, more opportunities will come for me to cover more people that I love. 

The Lais Ribeiro cover story was truly one of my favorite moments at She Knows. And that was my Editor-in-Chief coming to me and being like ‘Look, I usually write them, but I think your voice in this story will be so much more valuable.’I was so appreciative and it was such an incredible conversation with Lais. We talked about everything in both languages [English and Portuguese] and we would mix it up, she would start crying, and if she was crying, she would speak more Portuguese than she would English. That's the type of journalism I want to keep doing.

STITCH: You’ve interviewed celebrities like Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry and Meghan Trainor, which is cool and so crazy. Did you ever expect to be in this sort of situation where you are talking to huge names for a living?

Gelhoren: It's so crazy because growing up I used to be really celebrity crazy. Like, yes, I was this nerd and I loved school and I was good at everything, but I was also the encyclopedia of celebrities. I feel so fortunate to be able to talk to these people and what I'm proud of is how those conversations with a lot of these people are not superficial conversations about what they're wearing. To be able to have these deep conversations that in my head like mean so much because it's about the world, culture and our place in the world.

I love that I not only had a conversation with Anne Hathaway but I got to talk to Anne Hathaway about how difficult it is to be a perfect woman, how hard it is for her to balance that and how important it is for her as an actress to play a woman. Anne Hathaway is truly one of the nicest people. I mentioned at some point The Devil Wears Prada and I [told her], ‘By the way, as a journalist who lives in New York and went to Northwestern, that movie means a lot to me.’ And she goes, ‘Oh my God, it's you!’ And I'm like, ‘Oh my God, it is me, Anne! I am Andy.’ Just to be able to share those moments it's just really special and I just want to keep on doing it.

STITCH: How has STITCH helped you become the Entertainment Writer you are today?

Gelhoren: My experience at STITCH was preparing me to be the best journalist I can be. Medill helps you with more of the objective things, like the actual writing and basics. STITCH helps you have confidence as a journalist and editor. Being EIC allowed me to see a brand as a whole and to see that a brand is not just what story is gonna do well, but it's also what message [is STITCH] gonna put out into the world or what our purpose is. I think that's valuable even as a writer [because] I have a perception of what a demographic should look like, what a brand should look like and what I can do for my [image] to make it more brand safe.

STITCH: What would you tell people who want to get into the space of STITCH?

Gelhoren: What helped me the most when I first joined STITCH was the idea that being myself was the thing that helped me the most. I remember there was one question in the application that was like, ‘What do you wear every day or what's your uniform?’ I remember saying, well, if you ask me that in the United States, I'm gonna go to Uniqlo. But if you ask me that while I'm in Brazil, my uniform is a bikini.

I just really showed my personality there and who I am. Just show who you are and be yourself. STITCH is a place that values your identity, opinions and thoughts about culture, fashion and entertainment. The more you do that, the more valuable you'll be to [not just STITCH], but to [any] publication.