Editor’s Note: They are leaders. They are inspirational. They are mentors. They are visionaries. They are, quite frankly, badasses. They are our 2020 Reel Women During Women’s History Month, you will be able to meet these incredible personalities in Advertising, Entertainment, Media and Production. Get ready.
What did you originally want to be when you grow up?
I was told that when I was younger I either wanted to open a candy store or be a veterinarian because I’ve always loved animals and have been entrepreneurial.
How did you get into the film industry?
Wow. It’s true what they say: there’s not one way. I went to Bradley University and I was first studying photography. By the time I started at the university I’d been a photographer for 2 or 3 years and was working for a professional photographer. So naturally I got a little bored with the curriculum. After just 4 months I switched majors to Interactive Media, and took on extra classes in Business Management as well.
I learned design, coding, game design, entrepreneurship and creativity, and in my last year a new program came about that would allow five students from my school to go to LA with the University of Texas. I had already DP’d my first film and I was starting to behave like a real independent filmmaker. I applied, and I got in.
I studied Producing, Post-Production, and New Media from people working in the industry. I interned for Paramount Pictures, Dick Clark Productions, and The Institute. It was only four months, but the UTLA program revealed to me that a career in the film industry was not only viable, but that I was a natural in so many different ways. I think, if I had to choose the most pivotal moment/event that opened the door to my film career it would be that.
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