Make The Most Out Of Your Courses – Into A Movie

Though it may seem like my time at Santa Clara University was purely academic-based, that is not strictly the case. It’s true that, as a commuter student, I never became very involved on campus, but I made sure to take everything I learned home, where my career emerged. After my father was brought on as Executive Producer to the film, Emerald Run, I volunteered to tag along to take notes at meetings and auditions my freshman year. I later earned the official role of Associate Producer when offering up the organizational and budgeting skills I acquired in OMIS 15. During my sophomore year, with a script in shambles, the previous writer and director out of the project, and the film half shot, I stepped up for the rewrite of the beginning and end of the story and was trusted to do so having studied under Ron Hansen for ENGL 71 and 173.

 I completed my religion requirements my sophomore and junior years, taking courses specific to religious representation in visual media for research in shaping this and future projects, as it was initially scripted as a faith-based action film. Having rewritten the unshot script, I also wrote in a role for myself, which I went on to portray the day after I submitted my final religion paper at the end of my sophomore year. My beginning and ending version of the script was shot in only three days in keeping with the actors’ schedules and the limited budget that was left. Then, as I was entering my senior year, we began getting responses from international film festivals. To date, Emerald Run has received 9 wins and 22 nominations across 6 countries, those wins including Best Film, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress, twice, making me an award-winning actress and screenplay writer.

With all this in mind, the advice I have for current IB minors is the same I’d give to any student studying any field at any school: as much as you work for your education, make your education work for you. Take advantage of every opportunity, whether that be joining a club, studying abroad, taking on a global fellowship, or accepting a job on-campus. Go for what you want, but don’t immediately reject what you don’t, either. There will be core class requirements that you’ll either just want to get over with or push off as much as possible, but being such general and crucial subjects, each provides a wide variety of options, making it just a matter of finding your niche.

That being said, I would recommend researching these ahead of time, using both Course Avail and Evals, as they are often offered on a meticulously scheduled basis, sometimes even once every couple of years. Most importantly, however, make the most of your time at SCU with the people you meet. If you retain nothing else from your four or so years at Santa Clara, know that the connections you make with friends and mentors are more than enough. As you enter into your careers, you’ll be retrained and educated in your specific fields, tasks, and the licenses they require, but it’s your supporters that will get you there, keep you grounded, and encourage you to go beyond. So, in case you’d like another, need some advice, or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at m1caruso@alumni.scu.edu.