Alicia Morrissey sits down to discuss her passion for literature and Hitchcock films, as well as her hopes and dreams for the future.
Sitting down with Alicia Morrissey, you would never expect that she possesses so many varied interests. She left her hometown of Gettysburg, Pa. to attend Millersville University with her high school boyfriend. She had always imagined herself to be a teacher, until a bizarre dream made her panic and change her mind. Then declaring a major in psychology, she found herself feeling out of place in her classes. Finally, after excelling in her Speech class freshman year, Morrissey discovered her true calling: Public Relations.
Currently, Alicia is actively involved in organizations like PRSSA, Millersville’s Public Relations organization. Hearing her talk now about her hopes and dreams for the future, one would never imagine how much she had originally struggled to find her place. When asked about her plans, Morrissey becomes lost in her daydreaming as she enthusiastically describes how she hopes one day to be a book publicist.
“I want to make unknown authors loved, by giving those undiscovered people a chance to use their voice.” She goes on to talk of her incredible love and admiration of authors like J.K. Rowling, and how much different her life would have been if no one had ever given Rowling’s books a chance. Morrissey claims that she owes a boy in second grade for changing her life by introducing her to Harry Potter. It undoubtedly started her on a lifelong love affair with books.
“You get so attached. Those characters become your friends. I love that you become part of their world for a short while,” Morrissey gushes as she speaks of her favorite part of reading.
In addition to books, Morrissey is also an avid film fan and lover of music. She is addicted to watching everything made by Hitchcock, Psycho being the first she ever saw, and Rear Window being her all-time favorite. She passionately exclaims that it is the fact that his films were so groundbreaking for the horror genre that makes her adore his work.
In terms of music, Morrissey tries to stay away from the Top 40 music that much of the rest of her generation tend to flock to, particularly when it comes to Taylor Swift. She beams as she lists her true favorites: Imagine Dragons, Tom Petty, and Phil Collins to name a few. Morrissey doesn’t just like listening to music either, she is also a performer herself. An accomplished alto singer who has attended both nationals and states as part of the Gettysburg Children’s Choir.
After a few more minutes of animated chatter about favorite bands and movies she concludes “I pretty much like everything awesome!” a little sarcastically, although confident in this evaluation. Morrissey is certainly a well rounded individual when it comes to the arts: a lover of classic films, books, music and theatre, even doing some of her own singing. Though not everyone may agree with Morrissey’s particular tastes, no one can look past her undeniable enthusiasm for everything she does. No doubt she will bring this into her future career and help bring light to unknown authors to inspire a whole new generation.