Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Fall 2018

18 SCOPE FALL 2018 “Intensely interdisciplinary and relentlessly creative” is how Skidmore’s president, Philip Glotzbach, describes the College’s approach to education. That also describes the work and lives forged by the majority of alumni. Below are just six of those who parlayed one field of study into another field of work, melded disparate learning into an unexpected career or turned a passion mashup into a unique and productive pursuit. A s a reporter for National Public Radio, Elissa Nadworny ’10 asks questions, gets people to tell their stories and takes them to the airwaves. Right now her focus is a yearlong project examining high-achieving, low-income students. It’s a topic close to her heart: Her senior thesis at Skidmore was a documentary on education in South Africa, which she filmed on site. At Skidmore, the Erie, Pa., native wasted no time carving her niche. Hired by media services on her first day on campus, she later learned the job wasn’t supposed to go to a first-year student; but her talent for video editing paid off and she stayed. At that time, Skidmore didn’t offer a major in film or video, so she studied art, English and social sci- ences, rowed with a coach who taught her “toughness, endurance, goals and fortitude” and designed a self-determined major in film. She further enriched her knowledge in film studies at NYU’s esteemed Tisch School of the Arts. “Skidmore was small enough so that people knew who I was, but large enough for me to be exposed to diverse people and stimulation,” she recalls. “It’s a place where you can figure stuff out. I learned to problem-solve, to write, to push boundaries and to think creatively. I use lessons I learned at Skidmore every day. Also, my closest friends were made in college. Everything about Skidmore was a good experience.” Her first “real-world” job in media emerged from a course in which an executive from a prominent pharmaceutical advertising agency came to campus to conduct prac- tice interviews with students to help them refine their “personal brand.” He was bowled over by Nadworny, kept her résumé and later offered her what she calls a “dream job” making client-profile videos such as doctor and patient testimonials about particular medications. She later turned toward journalism, “which has greater purpose,” and earned a master’s at Northwestern’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. But she says, “You really learn how to do a job on the job. It’s not all academics.” So she pursued a fellowship at USA Today, then an internship at the Chicago Tribune . Next, Nadworny’s already interesting career escalated to “amazing” when Bloomberg News offered her a position covering the Obama White House. She sometimes traveled with the president, and she especially cherishes “one truly cool moment standing 4 feet away from him in the Rose Garden.” In 2014, when Nadworny learned about NPR’s new education beat, she jumped, leaving full-time pay and benefits for another internship. She quickly took root at NPR and is now a reporter and editor. The move “was a risk,” she admits with a laugh, “but I got used to the sound of my own voice on the radio by pretending I’m telling my friends a story about human experience. And I get to use my great skills in eavesdropping that I developed as a kid, watching people just live their lives.” Nadworthy helped NPR to incorporate multimedia in its methods and was part of the education team that won a 2017 Murrow Award for innovation. —Helen S. Edelman ’74 PASSION MASH- UP Elissa Nadworny ’10 is happy she took career risks to land a job at National Public Radio. Multimedia communicator La Johnson/NPR