Local Knoxville magazine, CityView, has a new associate editor who realized his journalism dream in the third grade. J. Brandon Lowe, who's only 25 years old, has been the associate editor for CityView for three months.
    

Born and raised in Georgia, Lowe attended The University of Georgia where he graduated with a degree in journalism. "I went to the University of Georgia mainly because they had the Hope Scholarship program, which let me go to college for free. They were also a top 20 school," Lowe said.
    

Growing up, Lowe had interests across the board, but he really figured out his ambitions when a third grade teacher gave him the assignment of writing a small book, start to finish, and completely illustrating it. "She later published a copy of the book for each of us in hard back. Before this exercise I had no idea I was even interested in writing. I was     really thrilled about it and didn't think about doing anything else," Lowe said.
    

He continued to pursue writing throughout his middle school years and in high school he met the woman who he calls "the most influential person in my life," professionally that is. When Lowe was fifteen he began cutting Kim Maldon's grass and she took a chance on a young writer. "She let me freelance for her. Eventually, I became a sports writer. She let me be a grown up with my own desk and a computer. She even gave me gas mileage for when I went on interviews and she sent me to meetings she couldn't make," Lowe said.
    

He stuck with writing and in college a professor entered one of his stories in a national contest. "It wound up placing and I won a Hearst Award, which is like a junior Pulitzer Prize," Lowe said. Since then, that clip has helped him progress his career and he still uses it today when people ask for a writing sample.
    

Lowe is trying to make CityView the best magazine it can possibly be. He's focused on getting fantastic photography and wants the magazine to pop on the shelves in order to broaden its subscription base.
    

Even though being an editor is stressful, Lowe tries to keep himself relaxed. "I don't really get that worked up, which is part of the reason I can do the job. Sometimes I get frustrated and angry, but I don't ever feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. I make sure to have a stopping point every day. I put it into my schedule, just like you would brushing your teeth," Lowe said.
    

His biggest annoyance when it comes to running the magazine is making sure all departments are happy. "It's hectic sometimes because it's hard to stay organized when you are dealing with the editorial, management, and advertising staffs all at the same time. Sometimes our ideas are in direct conflict. The secret to journalism is making the content in the magazine sell the advertisements," Lowe said.
    

For right now, Lowe is happy with being an editor, but he has big plans for the next twenty years. He is enrolling in culinary school at The University of Tennessee, and hopes to be able to expand his culinary skills. "I would like to own restaurants that I can create concepts for and then sell all over the     southeast, but I still want to be able to write professionally as a freelance writer whether it be fiction, non-fiction, short stories, or writing for a newspaper.