Dear Reader,

Greetings and welcome to Overachiever Magazine's roadmap for New Exciting Things. My name is Sabaitide, and I have been volunteering tirelessly behind the scenes at OM for quite some time now. I am the former Development Director and Interim Executive Director at Overachiever Magazine, and I became the Editor-in-Chief in June 2023 when our Founder, Rehana Paul, made the fateful decision to pursue her graduate studies and dream career wholeheartedly. In the transition, she also appointed me to become the new head of the online community space she created in 2018 with the mission to amplify the voices of Asian women, non-binary individuals, and other gender minorities.

To better explain, please allow me to provide some background. In the Fall of 2022, Rehana, our Founder and former Editor-in-Chief, took a leave of absence from Overachiever Magazine to focus on her intense senior year of university. She then appointed me as the Interim Executive Director to lead the organization along with Sabine, the Editorial Director, and Sabrina, the Social Media and Design Director. Then, at the beginning of 2023, we lost Sabrina and most of our social media team due to timing in their own personal lives and needing to focus on their own schooling and career endeavors. Our social media has been awkwardly quiet for a while because we have not had a social media team for most of 2023 and 2024, and rebuilding the social media team was on pause due to the other changes in leadership.

Between Rehana seriously contemplating her schooling and career choices beyond graduation, and me, waiting on Rehana on how to proceed with certain decisions but also knowing that I’d need personal time between July and August for my wedding, we have been very patient with how to proceed. Then, in June 2023, Rehana decided to step away from Overachiever Magazine and appointed me as the new Editor-in-Chief right before my personal break. While it has been an honor and privilege, I’ve been slow to announce this publicly because this transition also came at a very busy time for me in my personal life. Due to my wedding plans during the summer (and all of the stress and excitement that comes with it), the official roadmap for New Exciting Things was tentatively delayed until the Fall of 2023, when we also lost Sabine to the pursuit of her graduate studies.

Having that said, I would also like to offer a sincere apology to our followers if I have not been the best at communicating these changes in a more timely manner. I’ve tried to keep our current team in the loop, however, my utilization of our social media to broadcast any of these internal changes to the public was not immediately executed because I didn’t want to make some kind of radical announcement in June to open the door for more creative side projects and possible applications right before needing to take a step back in August to be more present in my personal life. I’ve tried to be kind with myself for carrying the weight of this change, and I’d like to thank everyone on our team for being patient with me. I did not want to stir up any doubt by broadcasting this publicly before I could provide a clearer vision of what the New Era of Overachiever Magazine will look like.

On the brighter side, the New Era, as I like to call it, will be full of New Exciting Things! This roadmap was written with the intention to be a guide for our current team members, our contributors, our readers, and any other prospective Overachievers who would like to get involved in our online community space. I’d like to inform you all of what’s been happening in certain areas of our platform and of some possible changes we might implement in the near future. I do acknowledge that there are several areas where our organization can significantly improve, and so I’d like to encourage you, dear reader, to participate in how we will create the New Era of Overachiever Magazine.

Thank you so much and I am looking forward to all of the New Exciting Things ahead.

Yours Truly,

Sabaitide

Whether you are new here or are a returning reader, we’d like to remind all of our Overachievers to maintain a high standard of respect in our online community, even and especially if we discuss complex issues. This includes our website, social media, and the comments section! We will not allow hateful speech on our platform, meaning, that we will not tolerate language that is obscene, profane, hurtful, or discriminatory to others.

Having that said, Overachiever Magazine is not responsible for the words or actions of any participant. By participating in our community, you are solely responsible for your interaction with others and your conduct does not necessarily represent OM as a whole, and Overachiever Magazine reserves the right to remove content and comments which we feel violate our House Rules.

The vision for Overachiever Magazine was to cultivate a diverse and inclusive online platform that amplifies the voices of HAAPI women, non-binary people, and other gender minorities. We’d like to do everything in our power to share stories from the voices within our group, which will include individuals from: different countries, different heritages and ethnicities, different backgrounds and experiences, different abilities and disabilities, and so so much more.

Having that said, we’d like to uphold our mission and reserve our platform as a safe place for our community members—including submissions and volunteer opportunities. For others who would like to support OM, you can help us by following us on Instagram and telling an Overachiever you know about OM.

Thank you very much.

Overachiever Magazine is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive online platform which amplifies the voices of HAAPI (Hawaiian, Asian American, Pacific Islander) women, non-binary people, and other gender minorities. This is a safe space for those who find themselves at the intersections between HAAPI, woman, and LGBTQ identities. We strive to discuss a wide range of topics about culture, entertainment, life, and other social issues faced within our community. Together, we will continue to explore new ideas, perspectives, and learn from each other month after month.

Overachiever Magazine was founded in 2018 by Rehana Paul, an International Communication student at American University who was passionate to create a platform that would empower, uplift, and advocate for all API women, non-binary individuals, and other gender minorities. The name makes light of the stereotype that Asians are Overachievers, however, OM also strives to include those who find themselves at the intersection of API and LGBTQ+ communities.

In 2023, Rehana stepped away from Overachiever Magazine to pursue her master’s degree and career, appointing Sabaitide, the former Development Director, to become the new Editor-in-Chief. As a designer, developer, and Overachiever herself, Sabaitide enjoys inviting others to participate in creating the new era of Overachiever Magazine with fun themes and new sections of the magazine. Now, OM has transitioned into a quarterly online publication and has expanded its mission to amplify HAAPI (Hawaiian, Asian American, Pacific Islander) voices.

Overachiever Magazine has come a long way since our beginning five years ago. Our A+ team of Overachievers dedicate their extra time and energy to publish online issues of personal stories, poetry, and other neat written pieces that are important to us. Our grassroots publication is powered by our contributors, so we’d like to encourage you to participate in the next issue!