“I have goals in mind, and I have a direction, which I’m very thankful for. I have a passion. And even if it is a direction that a lot of people tell me not to take, I’m going to take it, and it’s the only direction that I want to take. I want to be an actor, and I just got accepted to a school in the City. I mean, it’s really expensive, but I’m going to try, and I’m going to go there, and I’m going to get a degree. Acting is just one of my favorite things, and I figure that as long as it is one of my favorite things, then I’ll keep doing it. I just am trying to make myself happy by following what I know I should do.
I really enjoy that the plays we choose to perform here at SUNY Ulster are definitely plays with a purpose. We choose them carefully, but it’s not like in high school, where you can’t curse on stage. I really appreciate that because, as a person, I pretty much say whatever I want to say. As a student, I also pretty much say whatever I want to say. In terms of education and coming here to SUNY Ulster, I have my own time, my own schedule, and my own responsibilities. That works great for me because I trust myself, and I like it when professors trust me to do what I need to do. I really like that about college. High school was hard on me because I felt that there were just so many restrictions. I wasn’t treated like a person. Because of that, I like college so much more than high school!
Now, I am more responsible, and because of theater, I’ve learned how to love learning. Now, I really, really love learning. And being an actor, you never stop learning. That’s one of the most amazing things about theater, and I’m really grateful to people like Stephen Balantzian in the Theater Department for helping me learn what I need to learn.”
