My intended education and career path has changed greatly over the course of my life. I have always been an artist; my dream was to pursue acting one day but it never felt realistic. So, I became complacent in where my life would take me. I decided to go to UW-Madison and pursue a degree in Political Science and Economics, followed by law school which I thought would give me a good career foundation.
But after the first year of undergraduate study, I was planning to drop out.
I felt that I had trapped myself on a path that I hated, and didn’t want to be stuck in that field forever. What I really wanted to do was film. I wanted to write, direct, and act in my own projects. I voiced these concerns with my older cousin, and she recommended that I try the journalism program at UW; It would give me the fundamentals on how to build a story. I took her advice and graduated with my JBA last spring.
The issue with the film industry is that it is so hard to find opportunities. Some people spend their whole lives trying to be actors but never get their chance. Now I might be a risk taker, but I’m not a fool. I don’t plan to pursue a career like film without a plan. So, I decided that I would create the opportunities myself by creating my own projects. That way no one can tell me no.
My journalism undergrad gave me a lot of great skills on building connections and making stories, but I felt that I was lacking the business fundamentals to make this all seem possible. Coincidentally, I learned that UW-Madison had a one year business masters program in arts administration. It seemed like a no brainer, and would also give me a little more room to spend in Madison.
My time in the program has been nothing short of phenomenal. Now looking back only a month away from graduation, I can really see how much I have grown. My confidence as a leader and innovator is in part due to this program. There have been so many great opportunities for myself, including my applied learning placement with Hinckley Productions. There, I have been able to work with a lot of emerging film technologies, and see how a successful production company tackles both creative and administrative tasks.
After I graduate in May, I plan to move to New York City with a longtime friend and start creating films. If freshman Jack could see himself now he wouldn’t have believed this was possible. Thank you to the Bolz Center for making this possible and ON WISCONSIN!