WHY?

My fascination with film only deepened as I grew. After seeing a movie in theaters, I’d immediately dive into hours of reviews, behind-the-scenes features, and breakdowns of how it was made, wanting to understand every detail of the process. This drive pushed me to take on every opportunity I could to create. In high school, I made an hour-and-a-half documentary about my lacrosse team’s trip to Virginia Beach. I found myself juggling many tasks, including filming Flint Hill School’s dance teams’ music video in an hour and a half between a test in my last-period class and a game. My film teacher trusted me because she knew I was always up for the job, no matter how hectic it got.

In high school, I took a filmmaking class and was always pitching wild ideas that my friends couldn’t resist joining in on. Now, as a freshman at Penn State University, I am still diving headfirst into everything film. I joined Nittany Talk, a live talk show where I host the “Weekend Update” segment. In addition, I recently had the incredible opportunity of working as a PA on the feature film Deadlock, starring Kevin Spacey and DJ Qualls. Following advice given to me from the film’s director, Dustin Fairbanks, I have joined Backstage to seek out opportunities in this industry. As I continue to build my portfolio and chase new experiences, I am more fired up than ever to collaborate, tell stories, and see where this forever passion of mine will take me. I’m looking forward to networking and connecting with others in the film industry and continuing this journey of bringing ideas to life on screen.

Storytelling has been at the heart of everything I love. My passion for filmmaking traces back to solving puzzles when I was just two years old. The challenge of taking scattered pieces and putting them together is something I have always loved, and that love for building something whole has stuck with me. As I got older, I started creating massive battles with my toys, crafting elaborate stories with my friends, and letting my imagination run wild. When my dad took me to see The Avengers at age six, everything clicked. I realized that those battles that I made with my toys—people actually made a living bringing them to life on screen. This is when I fell in love with the worlds of Marvel, Star Wars, DC, and all of the other storytelling possibilities out there. From that moment on, the obsession began, I knew this was what I wanted to do, and I’ve never let up.

As a kid, I was constantly creating stop-motion animation videos. I was captivated on the idea of handpicking characters for my stories and the ability to bring them to life, frame by frame. This spark of creativity led me to photography and filmmaking on a larger scale. Whether it was making goofy movies with my cousins, remixing trailers for films in unexpected ways, or pulling my friends together to shoot short films over a weekend, I was always chasing that feeling of creating something meaningful.