Talent is natural, yes. It’s inherent, born-in, perhaps passed down. But it is not always easy. In many cases our talent must be drawn out of us, through practice, exposure, experience. In the past articles we have learned how to expose ourselves to new – and affordable – genres of talent, and, once we’ve found our talent, how to set a foundation for success in that niche field. But how do we move from point A to point B? Before the acting conservatory or the internship, we need ways to nurture our talents and find a safe and motivating community in which to do so. I sat down with two friends who have been an important part of my community since I first set foot in New York City to talk about how those around us have helped us find and develop our talents.
Leah Eastwood is double majoring in Psychology and Film at Pace and planning to pursue master’s degrees in Psychology and Business. She always had a passion for Film, having directed, filmed, and edited movies with her siblings and friends since she was seven, but she never truly considered film as a career path. It was in a high school drama class, when she had turned in a professional-level short film as her final, that one of her favorite teachers opened her up to the possibility and urged her to further her studies in Film.
However, Leah felt the need to hedge her bets. She knew Film was her talent and her passion, but she also knew it would be a difficult field to succeed in. Having enjoyed and excelled at AP Psychology in high school, she decided she would major in Psych and pursue a career in therapy. As a rising senior in college, though, those lines have blurred. While her Psych classes have solidified her decision to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field, she has found that her production classes and the hands-on learning have simultaneously allowed her to develop her skills and to seriously consider a Film career. Behind the camera is where she is happiest, and while she still wants to help people, she has found that Psych and Film work together beautifully to create meaningful media with moving messages.
Caroline Lattanzio moved to New York City from Arkansas, a place devoid of the same kind of creative spirit and diversity in talent that we enjoy here. In her small college prep school, she wasn’t exposed to the same kind of artistic and alternative opportunities that many of us were. To add fuel to the flame, she never really excelled in her classes, either. There was nothing and no one to show her that failing math didn’t mean the end of the world, and there was no activity or outlet to turn to after class. In a particularly tough time, she sat on her floor crying, afraid of failing, even if she didn’t know what she might fail at. Her mom asked her, “What do you actually like to do? What makes you happy?”
The answer was easy: music. Playing it on the guitar, yes, but also listening to it, experiencing it. She thought back to her first ever concert – Taylor Swift, before ticket prices were what they are now – and remembered how meaningful it was to her, knowing that she wanted to be a part of delivering that experience to others. This is how Caroline landed on Arts and Entertainment Management, a business program on the outskirts of the business department at Pace. It combines perfectly her talent in simply talking to people, advertising herself and charming artists and customers, with her passion in music and concert experiences, and has only helped her develop her skill and knowledge in these areas.
In the next article, we will discuss the community that Leah and Caroline have fostered since starting at Pace, and how they have helped each other grow as people, develop their skills, find solutions to the toughest problems, and connect with an ever-expanding web of similarly- and differently-talented people. It only takes one experience, one person telling you for the first time that you’re good at something or asking you seriously what you enjoy doing, to jumpstart a career, a talent, a life. Our advice: open yourself up to those experiences, those people, and take the risk. Listen closely to those who know you best and learn from them what you might be blind to in yourself. It could change your life.
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By Lauren Male
Lauren Male is a senior at Pace University majoring in English and Communications, with a minor in Journalism. She is pursuing Pace’s M.S. Publishing program. When she’s not reading, Lauren can be found trying new coffee shops, thrift shopping, and spending all of her money on concert tickets.
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