In January 2012, Keith Nishida, a former instructor to Design & Human Environment students at Oregon State and founder of DAMchic, began designing a brand new course relating to fashion styling and application in design, merchandising, advertising and more. This is where he realized the potential for students to create their own fashion magazine while also learning about styling techniques. 

“My ultimate goal was to have students create something tangible to help build their portfolio of work, to translate their active learning and application of course content into something that will help land them a job interview, internship or other professional opportunity down the line,” Nishida explained. 

The course officially started that summer and by fall 2012, the first ever issue of DAMchic released virtually under the title, “The Inaugural Issue,” as a product of the class’s collaborative work. After the success of this issue, Nishida decided to spearhead a new venture by beginning OSU’s first ever student-run fashion magazine and club, alongside former student Erin Hatley, who quickly became Editor-in-Chief. In the years to come, Keith became the first ever faculty advisor for DAMchic magazine, and saw the medium grow in its early days. 

DAMchic quickly received recognition from communities in and out of Corvallis, winning two People’s Choice Award recognitions from the Portland Fashion Style Awards consecutively in 2012 and 2013.  

After nearly four years with 11 issues published virtually, DAMchic staff approached OSU’s student media department — now known as Orange Media Network — about printing a physical issue. In the summer of 2016, DAMchic officially became a member of the OMN family and the first printed issue of DAMchic released in the fall of 2016 with the title “Forte.”

DAMchic underwent significant revolutionary changes after joining the student media department. “(OMN) had a lot more resources to devote to guiding DAMchic. And so what they got was more involvement with professional advisors, not only from me as their direct advisor, but journalistic support,” explained Don Boucher, DAMchic’s first OMN advisor. 

Printing the magazine once a term became a reality with a dedicated staff and students that were now hired to direct shoots, write articles and take photos. OMN also provided DAMchic with significant creative backing that led to major rebranding as OMN was undergoing its own rebranding process.

“What we tried to do is keep some of their character of their previous branding, but have some cohesiveness to it. So they look similar, but not exactly alike,” Boucher said. This led to the magazine as we see it now, with a logo and brand that is now instantly recognizable amongst generations of students at OSU. 

DAMchic quickly became a place for students from all backgrounds on campus to share stories, scratch their creative itch and highlight the fashion of Corvallis and beyond. 2018-19 Editor-in-Chief Andrea Mitev knew she immediately had a calling for DAMchic when she was a photographer. “The moment I stepped into the room of all the other photographers and creatives, I knew that that's where I was meant to be on campus, it felt so right," Mitev said. 

As the years went by and editors-in-chief transitioned out, one goal stayed common amongst each tenure: for DAMchic to be a hub for anyone to participate in fashion and fashion journalism. 
             
“Giving hours of my time to DAMchic was a no-brainer for me because I could feel a ‘heat’ around it… Without the barriers of high fashion, DAMchic was able to connect and experiment — which was what I was most interested in fashion’s ability to do,” said Olivia Harband, 2019-20 editor-in-chief.

An important aspect of the editorship for Draken Reeves, 2021-22 editor-in-chief, was to emphasize illustrating stories about culture in society while providing cultural context within fashion through the writing in each issue. “I really wanted an emphasis on… making sure that writers were pushing deeper and pitching things that had more layers to uncover,” Reeves said. 

Many of the successes that DAMchic would experience over its 10-year journey, however, were preceded by challenges, including one that changed the whole world: the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, DAMchic, like many other organizations, shut down and operated remotely. With a pause on printing, DAMchic shifted back to its original roots and published virtually. 

“DAMchic, it's about collaborating with others, tapping into each other's creativity… (but) I was really lucky to have a team that had the same experience I had before COVID. So they kind of had that same camaraderie (for DAMchic),” said Vicki Liang, DAMchic 2020-21 editor-in-chief, about her experience leading during the pandemic. 

DAMchic has received several national accolades from organizations such as the Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Association. Most recently in 2022, DAMchic received a Pacemaker award for best four-year college feature magazine, due in part to the continual work of editors setting up a foundation for each other and building on one another. 

From directors to photographers to designers, endless amounts of hours and work have been dedicated to upholding the mission of the magazine. Over the last ten years, DAMchic has grown to be a staple in OSU culture and continues to inspire not only the student body, but the students behind the publication who continue its legacy. 

“I think being a part of a team like DAMchic really opened my eyes (to) what is possible when people work together with one mission. And I think that DAMchic has an important mission and it's still important to so many of us who aren't at Oregon State currently,” said Mitev.