internship at Hale Center Theater Orem

Partially due to my involvement with the theater during "Singin' in the Rain", and partially due to my friendship with Sean Murphy, I was able to begin an internship in the Marketing department of the Hale Center Theater Orem. At the beginning, my responsibilities were fairly vague, but after about a month the internship began to shape and allow me to use a lot of the skills I was learning in the Marriott School. I'll make a post later where I talk about what I learned and did as an intern at HCTO.

cast in Curtains

In August I got cast in Hale Centre Theatre's (in Salt Lake City) regional premiere of "Curtains". Rehearsals began in the middle of the month and it was one of the most fun rehearsal processes I have been involved in.

finally choosing my major

In early August I had to make a huge decision. I had been accepted to the School of Accounting (a pretty big accomplishment, considering the competition). I also had been accepted to the School of Management (another big accomplishment, since it is highly competitive). Lastly, I was considering switching to the acting program within the School of Fine Arts.

After weighing my options and taking into consideration my future plans I decided to take a spot in the Marriott School of Management's Marketing program. My decision was based on two factors: (1) As a marketing major I would be able to graduate within a year, making my total amount of time in school only 3.25 years, and allowing me to catch up on the two years I "lost" by going on a mission (Lost is in quotes of course, because I don't consider it a loss of time). (2) The marketing program would allow me to combine my creative side with my analytical side. Indeed, the marketing program requires creativity, but also financial practicality, which are tools that would serve me into the future.

If I had chosen the School of Accounting, I would have a guaranteed career, with a nice salary right out of school. However, the program would have also consumed my life. I would have had to give up a lot of my goals with the arts, and my creativity would have been stifled. While the lure of money was huge, in the end I felt like I needed to be true to myself.

As an acting major I would have had a lot of fun. But I also would have graduated in 3 years, instead of 1. That would make me 25 years old upon graduating with an undergrad degree. And a BFA in Acting isn't really something I can do much with. I can always perform, even without a degree, and I have proven this throughout this last year.

My Bachelor of Science in Business Management Marketing has placed me in a versatile position with so many options for my future. I'm pretty sure I made the best choice.