What is your title?
Production Specialist
How long have you been with VLS?
I started freelancing with Vincent about 11 months ago, but I’ve been full time for almost 5 months.
What Office Do You Work Out Of?
Erlanger, Kentucky
What is your hometown?
I live in Owensville, Ohio
What do you like most about the lighting industry?
I have always loved creating art in many different styles and forms, but when I started college at NKU I had zero theater experience. That was one art I’d never really touched, but I wanted to give it a try because I love the storytelling aspect of it. Lighting was something I never really thought about being so important to the visual side of productions until I started the program. I think its unique way of expressing emotion and movement is so cool and different then anything I have done before. I love to play with colors with painting or ink, and lighting would be no exception to that.
Who inspires you?
There are a lot of people that I look up to in my life and for various different reasons, but I’d say first and foremost my grandma who was a big part of my childhood. She had a large effect on me just by how she lived her own life. Always laughing and finding joy in everyday things, she was a great role model for me as I grew. She also had a love of travel and encouraged me to set time and money aside to do so because the world is so big and beautiful, and she wanted me to experience that as well. Her strength in her faith, and encouragement and pride she showed me with whatever I was doing, no matter how well, still lives with me today. She was a cool grandma and made me feel cool whenever I saw her:)
My family members inspire me in different ways as well, with who they are and how they live their lives. I have also been blessed with great friends who challenge me to be a better person, and we get to experience the adventure of life together which is awesome because we get to support one another and grow.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the lighting industry?
Always be open to learn. I am still learning about this industry every day, and though it can be hard to not feel very knowledgeable at times, being receptive to learning from others and being okay with not knowing all the answers can be hard but it’ll take you far.
What’s one thing — either industry-related or not — you learned in the last month?
I learned to make bagels 🙂 My younger sister really likes to bake and I’ve been wanting to get better at cooking and baking so we decided to try making bagels together. For our first try they turned out really well! We made a cinnamon batch and an everything batch. Boiling them was the strangest part of the whole process; I never realized we needed to do that before baking them.
What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?
I really hate eggs, I think they are disgusting. I don’t think I can physically put one in my mouth because I will become very sick. It doesn’t bother me if they are used as an ingredient in a cake or something, but I won’t eat an egg just by itself. What’s ironic is my family lives on a small-ish farm and we have 40 chickens so fresh eggs have been at my fingertips my whole life, but I don’t eat them.
What’s the last book you read?
I’ve been working my way through the Bible the last few months which has been a challenge, but a good one. I’ve never took the time to fully read it before, so I am rediscovering stories I read as a kid and seeing and learning from them in a new light now as an adult.
What is your favorite hobby?
I do a lot of arts and crafts when I’ve got some downtime. I like to do an assortment of things: sketching, painting, writing, etc. and I’m trying to get more into crocheting and sewing.
I also love to go swing dancing! I love to be with my friends and I want to dance more so it’s the perfect combo. I’ve been going for the last three years now and it’s a fun activity to do as well as an opportunity to meet new people.
What’s the first concert you ever attended?
Technically it was The Wiggles concert when I was 5 years old, and it was a highlight of my childhood for sure, but as an adult I went with my sister up to Cleveland for the Wonderstruck Music Festival back in 2021 which was the first official concert/ festival I’d ever been to. Some of my favorite bands were there too: Walk the Moon, AJR and The Hails. It was a blast and a weekend I will not forget:) I love live music very much, and the weekend turned into kind of an adventure for us too which was fun.
What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?
IRELAND! I have a list of so many places I want visit inside the United States as well as outside of the country, but the number one place on that list is Ireland. I want to absorb the culture, history, food and the environment so much; my goal is to travel there at the end of this year or beginning of next year with my sister.
If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I would have to say anything BBQ, hands down. My dad has a smoker and grill he’ll use on occasion throughout the summer and then makes his own BBQ sauce to go with the ribs, steak or whatever he’s cooking. It’s the best thing ever.
What’s one item you can’t live without?
Gosh, there are so many things I’m grateful for that it’s hard to narrow it down. I don’t think there’s an actual item or possession I couldn’t live without, so I would have to say my family and friends because I love them a lot and I’d be very alone without them. And being a twin as well; for most people they don’t know what that’s like. Even though we’re just sisters, we’ve always been together and gone through the same things together, and years later we are still best friends. I couldn’t imagine living without her.
Nature and the seasons would be a big one as well. The world is so big and beautiful that I want to experience it all because I think about how I take it all for granted sometimes, like trees, blue skies, etc. Everyday things that you wouldn’t really notice unless it’s not there anymore.
And laughter- I couldn’t imagine life without it.
(I know, I know, the prompt read 1 thing, but I couldn’t just pick one).
