Syracuse University

Why did you choose SU?
My family told me I could go to school anywhere I wanted, and I could pursue any dream I could envision. My parents said they would be behind me 100%. When I first applied to schools, I didn't know what I wanted to do, and went to Oregon State University for two years to figure that out. When I settled on photojournalism, I started doing research, and Syracuse kept coming up. It helped a lot that my dad had gone here (Newhouse '80), and that my sister was attending SU while I was looking for good photojournalism programs. I was able to visit campus twice; once for a Thanksgiving weekend with my sister, and again for her graduation. I was impressed with the program and was able to meet with photography Professor Lawrence "Doc" Mason, and his kindness really rubbed off on me. Three years later, here we are.
 
What has been your most meaningful experience so far?
It's so cheesy, but to be honest, the photo professors are like family to the photo students. Our peers in other departments even comment on it with jealousy. Apparently, no other department has the same family-vibe we do. Professors David Sutherland, Sung Park, Bruce Strong, Anthony Golden and Doc Mason invest so much time and effort with us. They train us, help us get industry connections, and bring us out to their houses. It creates a real camaraderie, and helps inspire and encourage us. Plus, the photo students try pretty hard to hang out a lot, we throw photo editing parties at our houses, go on photo adventures, etc. In my time at SU, I've shot two Olympic games, and stories on immigrants, police forces, and commercial fisherman. But what has left the biggest imprint is knowing I can call professors at night and on weekends and they'll be there for me. The friendship from the photo department is pretty awesome.
 
What is the secret to your success at SU?
My secret to success has been losing sleep dreaming up the craziest schemes I can think of, then making them happen. I thought it would be cool to shoot the Beijing Olympics and had been given the name of a person at the US Olympic Committee who I heard might get me credentialed if I could find a news organization to send me. So I found a photographer shooting the games for Newsweek. I e-mailed him seven or eight times without a response, and then suddenly he said yes. I used that experience as a springboard to get to the 2010 Vancouver games. One night I couldn't sleep and I was thinking about how I had seen a photo essay on commercial fishing off the Irish coast in the 80's - really gritty, black and white images. I wanted to try my hand at it. I woke up the next morning, found a fishing association in North Carolina and started making phone calls. I was lucky enough to talk my way onto an 80-foot trawler heading up the Eastern seaboard for five days, and spent spring break shooting that. I hadn't been on a boat on the high seas before - there was a lot of cigarette smoke, sea sickness, and 15,000 pounds of flounder. I made a photo essay I am really proud of, all because I made a few phone calls. That is so cool to me. I think it would be fun to be a tour photographer for Bob Dylan or Tom Waits; that's my next goal.
 
How have you changed since you’ve been here?
I'm not going to lie, I find the Syracuse campus to be a very cutthroat and critical place, socially speaking. It took me a long time to find my group of friends, and in the meantime, found I have become a much quieter, more judgmental person. I don't say that with pride, but I think it is consistent with a trend many students go through during their time here. I know I have become insanely critical of myself and my own work. The standards can be pretty high if you are a competitive person. It adds a lot of stress to your life, and I am rarely happy with my work, but when I am, its a good feeling.

What do yo plan to do after you graduate?
I have an internship lined up at The Oregonian, so I get to move back to my home for a few months. I'm excited about that. I'm interested in the logging industry and would love to work on a photo essay on that. There are a few New York City internships that interest me, too. I minored in Global political economics, so I spend my spare time reading about international relations, economics and different aspects of geography. With that in mind, I'd really like to go to South America and photograph the socialist movements taking place under Morales in Bolivia and Chavez in Venezuela. We'll see.