Girl on Film

It’s not surprising that Erin Jesionowski ’22 is pursuing a degree in communications and media studies. She is enthralled by film. Ask her to name her top favorite movies, and she has an answer ready. Inside Out. Dead Poets Society. The Shining.

 

“I associate these movies with specific, poignant times in my life,” she explains. “For example, watching The Shining is a ‘core’ memory for me because the first time I watched it, I was surrounded by my best friends, watching this film in the darkness of the house, which really heightened the viewing experience.”

She even spent last summer interning for an independent film studio/production company in Philadelphia. Assigned to a specific project, she was responsible for managing the details, including finding talent and creating a schedule for the day of the shoot.

“The thing that made me fall in love with film is that it can serve as an escape for the viewer,” she says. “No matter what is going on in the life of the audience at that time, the movie is there to relieve their problems, stress, etc. for two hours or however long the duration may be.”

Erin is combining her major with a minor in secondary education and has plans to teach. She’s already completed a stint of student teaching at her old high school.

“I loved it,” she says. “I’ve always had a calling to teach. It’s always been in the back of my mind.” She admits to constantly playing school with her American Girl dolls as a kid.

She’s not leaving her love of film behind, though. “It’s a visual form of learning,” she says. She plans to incorporate movies into her curriculum and possibly teach a film class as an elective.