Why did you choose such an eclectic group of majors/minors?

Well, I guess maybe because I am sort of an eclectic person. I never am really happy with one thing. I came into college knowing that the only things I liked in school were English and art, and that I had no idea what I wanted to major in. I started as a marketing major but switched after one day of CSE 101 (lol). I switched to advertising because it was like marketing, but I had the freedom to be creative. Oddly enough I chose the management track, then quickly changed to the creative side. After that switch, it was the first time I felt myself really thrive.

Then, during my sophomore year I felt like I was having a mid-life crisis because I grew bored with advertising and was only interested in film. That is when I decided to add my first minor, fiction filmmaking — and it completely changed my college experience. I was thrown into a world that I barely knew anything about, but I loved every second of it.

I went from not knowing how to work a camera or what a jump-cut was, to now being one of the directors of this year’s Theatre 2 Film class.

As I grew busier and more involved with film, I had this itching feeling that I was missing something. My junior year, I took a class called Transmedia Writing that again, flipped my world upside down. I was writing novels and screenplays every week, although it was a lot of work, it awakened a part of me I hadn’t seen in a long time. It helped me realize that my true love is writing fiction. That’s when I added my second minor, creative writing.

In a way though, when I look at my major and minors I see so many similarities. Advertising, filmmaking and creative writing are all forms of storytelling. Each one tells a story in a different way or a different medium, but ultimately seeks to engage with other people to tell them a story. So I guess I wouldn’t call my degrees eclectic but more complementary of each other.

Tell us about your study abroad experience?

I studied abroad in the summer of 2016 in Italy and France with a program called “Advertising A La Mediterranean.” I lived in Rome for six weeks studying advertising and film. On the last week of the trip, we traveled to Cannes, France to attend the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, which is a very prestigious award show for advertising. The experience as a whole was so incredible it feels like it didn’t even really happen. still feels like a dream.

I went so some of the most beautiful places in the world and made amazing friendships I still have today. Every single day was so spectacular that it started to feel normal that I could see the Pantheon everyday or swim in the Mediterranean sea or see famous people casually around Cannes.

What advice would you give about balancing work and school?

Whew. This is a hard one. I feel like I’m still figuring it out myself, even as a senior. But the advice I would give would be to stay on top of things and plan ahead. The best thing I ever did was buy myself a planner. I would be lost without it. You can write in what is coming up and keep track of the things you’ve done and still need to do. It’s an amazing tool for organization and will help you to not forget that exam you completely forgot about on Wednesday.

I would say my other saving grace –seriously, would probably miss every meeting/event I need to be at without this — is the reminder app on my phone. As soon as I know that I have to be somewhere on a certain day at a certain time I put it in my reminder app: once at night the day before the event to remind myself, and another time in the morning the day of. If you don’t do this, start doing it because it will save your life-.e all have a million things going on and it’s too much for your brain to keep up with, let Siri do it for you!

The last little thing I’ll say about this is don’t under plan for yourself because you think it will be too much work. Challenge yourself. You will learn so much about time management and how you deal with stressful situations. And the most important thing is that you will grow so much as a person — believe me. One semester I was taking 19 credit hours, working 16 hours a week, working at an internship, shooting films every weekend and somehow had to fit in a social life, finding time to eat and do laundry and have fun. I was gone from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. There will be times when you are overwhelmed and that is normal — you just need to take things one step at at time and don’t allow yourself to get worked up. Keep a level head and if you need to, lean on the people who love you.

When you’re in the working world, you will absolutely need these skills. Employers are always looking for qualities such as good organization, time management and people skills in their employees. Believe that you can do more than you think you can, because you are more than capable and you will surprise yourself.

What do you hope to do after graduation?

I am open to a lot of things. I would love to somehow work in the film industry, if that’s more on the corporate side with promotion and advertising or if it’s more on the production side. I also wouldn’t mind working in an agency as a copywriter. I think my strongest skill is writing and would love to explore how I can work that into my future career. (My secret dream, though, would be directing music videos.)

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Mykonos, Greece. I wanted to go to Greece so badly while I was abroad but it didn’t end up working out. Everyone I know who has been to Greece says it is the most beautiful place on Earth. (Also, since I saw the movie “Mamma Mia” when I was 12, I’ve had my mind SET on going to Greece and recreating the musical numbers and also, have the same wedding as Sophie.)

What is your favorite movie of all time?

This is the HARDEST question for me. I have seen so many movies that I can never decide. So, I’ll give you my top four as of right now: “La La Land,” “Tree of Life,” “Palo Alto,” and “Love & Mercy.”

If you could meet anyone (real or fictional), who would it be?

Jim Morrison, without a question.

Ali Obermayer, ’18