Tom Bunting is a freshman here at Emerson College and is making the most of his first year here!
Originally hailing from a small Philadelphia suburb called Stourdsburg, he moved to San Francisco as a child and considers it to be his real hometown. His favorite thing about the city is “how it’s right near the ocean and bay; always being able to see the water connects the city in a really cool way and just makes it super distinctive.” While it’s where he started, he does want to hopefully end up there after school as well.
Emerson has always been his first choice. He knew he wanted a city school after seeing friends’ experiences on rural campuses, because he wanted the ability to get out of the school’s “bubble… even if the furthest [he] regularly [ventures] outside of Boylston is the Chipotle next to South Station,” and because originally, Tom was convinced he wanted to be a VMA major. He explains how these factors focused his search onto Emerson: “I liked Emerson because it seemed to be comparable to NYU and UCLA with their film programs. It was also substantially easier to get into than those schools, which is good if you’re a ‘creative’ white male with mediocre grades swimming in a sea of ‘creative’ white males with mediocre grades.” So, Emerson was perfect. But, what about his major? By November of his senior year in high school Tom realized, “Wait! I really don’t want to make movies anymore!” and that his real passion is journalism. Now a journalism major, Tom is finding his place at Emerson.
An involved member of EIV, Tom describes how it is definitely a lot of hard work but also extremely rewarding. Starting as an Associate Producer on EIV News at 6, he is now an Assistant Director for the entire news devision as well as an AP on News at 6. The most interesting thing he has gotten to do through EIV is go to New Hampshire to cover the presidential primaries. “It was my first time covering a real political event, and I learned a lot from it. We somehow talked our way into a Donald Trump press room, which was definitely an experience,” says Tom.
While Tom hasn’t been in Boston for very long, he finds the entire city very cool including Cambridge which is an area he wants to get to more often. However, he is still a very long way from family. Luckily, this hasn’t posed much of a problem for Tom who says, “I’m lucky that I get to see my family a fair amount, I actually just got back from vacation with them for my spring break. Plus, you know, texting and Skype are a thing, so it’s not like it’s easy to fall out of touch with people. I’ve actually not had as hard of a time adjusting to here as I was expecting, which is great.”
Tom Bunting is definitely someone to get to know on Emerson’s campus! Read the whole interview below the picture of us!
What’s your hometown and what’s your favorite thing about it?
I’m from San Francisco, which is a really amazing city. It’s a lot like Boston in that it’s kind of manageable in terms of size, but there’s a lot of personality to each specific district. My favorite thing about it is how it’s right near the ocean and bay; always being able to see the water connects the city in a really cool way and just makes it super distinctive. It’s kind of becoming a rich tech person nightmare city right now, but I hope it evens out by the time I finish college because I’d really like to end up back there.
Also this is all a lie, I’m actually from a town in Pennsylvania called Stroudsburg, but it’s a depressing wannabe Philadelphia suburb with the biggest claim to fame being that one of the Schoolhouse Rock composers lived there. I moved when I was young, though, so I really just think of my hometown as San Francisco.
Why Emerson? What’s your major?
Emerson was always my first choice. I wanted to keep living in a city, and I really loved Emerson’s location in Boston because it feels more like living on a city than a campus. I have a lot of friends that go to schools that are more rural and it just seems really isolating and boring to me. I like being able to get outside of the Emerson bubble if I want to, even if the furthest I regularly venture outside of Boylston is the Chipotle next to South Station.
My process of deciding a major was weird. I did a lot of film stuff in high school, so when I started looking for colleges I focused mostly on film schools. I liked Emerson because it seemed to be comparable to NYU and UCLA with their film programs. It was also substantially easier to get into than those schools, which is good if you’re a “creative” white male with mediocre grades swimming in a sea of “creative” white males with mediocre grades.
So when I first visited here I was convinced I was going to be a VMA major. Then in November I was like, “Wait! I really don’t want to make movies anymore!” I was in an AP Gov class at the time, which I was really enjoying, and journalism seemed like an interesting continuation of that. Plus, Emerson had a really good journalism program, so I wouldn’t have to scramble and find new schools. So I went with journalism, and I’ve been super happy with that decision so far. For how little thought I put into it, this has worked out incredibly well!
(I got a C- in that class, for what it’s worth. Thanks Ms. Schlax.)
What do you want to do in the future?
This question sounds like my winter break. You sound like my grandmother.
I’d like to do some kind of journalism, obviously. I have no idea really what kind so far, I like writing about politics and media. I really enjoy writing and always have, but I’ve gotten involved in television production and website management since getting here, and that’s been really interesting too. This is all my long-winded way of saying I have no idea what I want to do and telling myself it’s okay because I’m just a freshman.
What orgs are you in? What’s your favorite part/what is the most interesting thing you’ve done?
Small things: I write here and there for Emertainment Monthly, not as much as I want to, I’ll definitely get more involved in the future when I have more time. I also want to do more with the Beacon. I occasionally write for WEBN.
Kind of the biggest thing I’m involved with now is EIV News. I started as an Associate Producer on EIV News at 6, which was a really fun introduction to learning how television news is produced and created. The editorial side was basically assembled all by me and my EP and the other AP, so it was a really intense introduction. I learned a lot from it, though, and when my EP got promoted to News Director this semester, I became one of his assistant directors.
EIV News is in a really cool place right now because it’s basically being rebuilt from scratch. This semester we took three new shows under our banner, reorganized a lot of the structure of show production and launched a whole new website. It’s been really fun and crazy as a freshman being involved in something like this, and I’ve really enjoyed working on it and seeing how it’s progressing. I basically do whatever I can. This ranges from fun things like producing segments, managing the website, and writing for the website and goes down to less glamorous things like filling out finance forms and making sure things are going okay at show tapings. I’m also an AP on News at 9, so I work with a team of writers to produce stories for that show. It’s a lot of work!
Probably the coolest thing I’ve gotten to do through an extracurricular was cover the New Hampshire primary. It was my first time covering a real political event, and I learned a lot from it. We somehow talked our way into a Donald Trump press room, which was definitely an experience.
There was a really [rude] guy behind me who kept yelling out anti-Semitic and misogynistic things during Clinton and Sanders speeches. After Trump left and the rally was ending, I called him a dick as I passed him and then quickly walked into the press room when he yelled back at me. I’m a brave activist.
What’s your favorite place in Boston? Any interesting stories about being in Boston?
Boston seems really cool so far! I haven’t done as much exploring outside of the general Emerson area as I would like to, but it seems very neat so far. Cambridge in particular seems really quaint and fun; I’d like to get out there more.
How do you deal with missing family?
I’m lucky that I get to see my family a fair amount, I actually just got back from vacation with them for my spring break. Plus, you know, texting and Skype are a thing, so it’s not like it’s easy to fall out of touch with people. I’ve actually not had as hard of a time adjusting to here as I was expecting, which is great.
Describe yourself:
This is a bad question. Someone who was mad at me described me as a “pretentious fake-alternative wannabe misfit” on Tumblr one time, and that’s kinda been my go-to description for myself since then because I think it’s funny and also vaguely accurate.