As I approach my final semester at Juniata, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with the thought of “what comes next?”. Family members, friends, and coworkers always ask what my plans are once I graduate, and thanks to Juniata College and the Theatre Department, I can say with confidence exactly what I am going to do once I leave.

One of the new classes the Theatre Department has implemented is called Integrated Experience. It’s a one-credit class where the seniors of the department meet with all of the faculty once a week to discuss what comes next, and how we are going to get there. The curriculum is self-driven, so the students decide what their deliverables are going to be for each week, instead of being given coursework by our professors. At the beginning of last semester, we spent a considerable amount of time creating our personal mission statements, as well as identifying what our one-year, five-year, and ten-year goals are. For me, I knew that I wanted to move back home to Boston after I graduate to focus on building my professional acting career, and then move to New York City to perform on Broadway when the time was right. In order to get there however, I needed to do some research. For the first few weeks of the semester, I brought in information about different theaters in the Boston area, what types of performance they do, directors to contact, etc. I worked on building/editing my resume, as well as crafting cover letters to different directors. It was definitely intimidating putting myself out there, but I am so grateful for these uncomfortable experiences, because over winter break something very exciting happened.

I had the privilege to meet with Spiro Velodous, the Artistic Director of the Lyric Stage in Boston. I went to the theater, we chatted about my experience and repertoire, and I did a sample audition for him right there in his office. We talked about upcoming auditions for the area, and he told me that I have a lot to offer and he’s excited about my future. It’s safe to say I had a very successful break and am more than ready to graduate. It’s one thing to have met with a director and have upcoming plans for performing, but it’s a whole new level of excitement for someone who hasn’t even graduated college.