Meet Natalie Stanton, a junior at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Natalie is from Hermitage, PA, where she attended Hickory High School.
(Natalie)
In high school, she enrolled in all of the film photography courses that were offered and quickly fell in love with it. During her senior year, Natalie received an honorable mention at an art show and had her photograph displayed in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Her teacher, Mrs. Black, acknowledged her talent and encouraged her to pursue photography in college.
When applying for college, Natalie had heard a lot about IUP from her two older cousins who attended the school. She did not want to go to a large university and decided IUP would be the right size for her.
Following her teacher’s advice, Natalie decided to major in communications media production with minors in both journalism and teamwork and leadership.
(Natalie)
Outside of class, Natalie is a crew member of the IUP TV show Press Start, photographer for The Penn, and the President of the Student Photography Association.
Every semester, Natalie tried to join the photography club, but her schedule kept her from sticking with it. In Fall 2018, the President of the photography club was stepping down and was looking for someone to fill their position. Natalie took this as her chance to run for President since she knew she could dedicate more time to the club. Her fellow members thought she would be a good fit and elected her President.
For students wishing to pursue photography, Natalie’s advice is to not worry about finding your style right away. “Take pictures of anything and everything and you will start to realize what you like.” Her favorite place on campus is the photography studio. She loves the atmosphere and could spends hours working in there without even realizing it.
As for general freshmen advice, Natalie suggestion is to get involved on campus. “When I was a freshman, I wish someone would have told me this. I did not really get involve in clubs until my junior year and I feel like I missed out on a lot. I have met so many new people who are now my close friends by joining IUP-TV and SPA. You will not regret joining, you’ll only regret not joining earlier.”
College has made Natalie a more outgoing person. In high school, she was shy when meeting new people. Now, she loves meeting new people and feels much more independent.
Natalie’s dream job is to work for WWE. She has been a WWE fan for a few years and would love to travel on the road with them as their photographer.
You can follow Natalie on Instagram @nataliestantonphotography!