A Peek Into Aleksa's Life

Aleksandra Maglich, or “Aleksa,” is a 19-year-old student at Eugene Lang College, as well as an intern at Esquire magazine in pursuit of a career in public relations. As she sits across from me, she comes off as laid back and happy, but very focused as well. Hailing from Los Angeles, California and moving to New York City just one year ago, Aleksa feels lucky to have experienced both of these cultural centers. She is of Siberian decent with her Dad being born there and both parents speaking the language. Aleksa’s bilingual upbringing gives her an edge in New York, since she can speak Siberian and English fluently.

Aleksa’s father is a nuclear physicist living in Newport Beach, while her Mom is a professor of Media, Art and Design residing in Los Angeles. Aleksa’s Mom, Victoria Vasua, is a visiting professor at Parsons, and stays with Aleksa in her 1 bedroom apartment on 5^th Avenue and 16^th Street when she comes to visit. With the help of her mother who loves Feng Shui, Aleksa decked out her place with lots of mirrors and an overall minimalist theme.

Aleksa has one sibling, a 21-year-old sister who is studying Art at the University of Beijing in China. Clearly, her family is very cultured and well traveled. Aleksa herself was not so interested in academics during her High School years, since she felt like it was difficult to communicate with professors and connect to the material. Now that she is at Eugene Lang, she feels that she is actually learning because of the small intimate classes and close contact with professors.

Although Aleksa lives in the Flat Iron district, her favorite neighborhood is the East Village/Lower East Side, where she enjoys going out to places like Fish Bar and Kings Cross. Aleksa feels that going out in L.A. is all about status, meaning how much money you have and what car you’re driving. She also describes L.A. as much quieter than New York. In New York, there are more places for anyone to go out, rather than only those of high status.

Aleksa’s favorite place to shop is LF, a cutting edge store boasting a large variety of different designers. LF can also be found in LA, mirroring Aleksa’s bicoastal existence. Aleksa’s style is a combination of trendy downtown hipster and California ease.

When Aleksa is not in school or at her internship, perhaps you can find her grabbing an iced coffee with soymilk after an Ashtanga Yoga class and a jog. In her downtime, she enjoys reality TV shows to unwind, as well as other series such as Mad Men and Entourage. Her favorite kind of music to listen to is new age hip-hop, such as Kid Cudi. She feels that electro is good for big crowds, but it isn’t her favorite type of music. Her preference towards hip hop and smaller bars alludes to the fact that Aleksa is not a fan of huge crowds or raves.

Most recently, Aleksa has read “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, which she enjoyed immensely. Along with her yoga practice and Feng Shui apartment, her spiritual side is clear to anybody who knows her. However, her favorite author above all others is Bukowski, who also hails from Los Angeles.

In the future, Aleksa sees herself moving back to L.A., since her whole family is there. She feels that New York has and will continue to significantly change her, making her appear different to friends and family upon her return to L.A. However, this change will become a part of her and mold her even further into the diverse, complex and cultural go-getter that she has already proven to be.

Lula Brown