Costume Shop Assistant, North Shore Music Theatre

While at Hillsdale I was involved primarily in theatre and Chi Omega, although I also volunteered and was a part of the forensics/debate honorary and the German honorary.

After graduation I worked at North Shore Music Theatre as a Costume Shop intern and Costume Design Assistant before moving onto Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. After completing their apprentice program in costumes, I secured a staff position back at North Shore. I’m hoping to freelance in design or costume crafts back home in the Midwest during my upcoming off-season.

Besides how to sew?!

I learned how to communicate and problem-solve more effectively, within the classroom as well as within my organizations and with friends. I didn’t realize before Hillsdale how vital those two skills would be in my life as well my career.

Wherever you go, get involved.

Also, don’t be afraid to study/pursue something out of the ordinary if it’s what you love—success doesn’t require you to study law, politics or business.

After spending a year at James Madison College at Michigan State University, I was ready for a change. Although I loved what I was studying (international and social relations) and found my classes to be both challenging and rewarding, I was looking for a different collegiate experience. I found Hillsdale to be a place where I could be a more active participant in campus life. Through my involvement in campus activities, I met people who, like me, were interested not only in intellectual pursuits, but creativity and the arts as well. Without their support, I would never have had the courage to pursue a life in professional theatre.

It taught me to risk, and that risk (along with a little elbow-grease) is rewarded. I used the foundations I received from my professors, both in technical theatre and from core classes, to secure an internship at a well-known regional theatre on the east coast, where I knew no one and no one knew me. In a world where the next job depends on who you’ve impressed, I was lucky to get that first in, but once I was there I gave 110%, and it’s paid off. I’m now on staff at that theatre, and I just worked with a Tony-award winning designer.

A highlight that really sticks out, although it was a smaller achievement, was earning a perfect score on my American Heritage midterm from Brad Birzer. It seems silly, but acing the test of a professor I admired and respected so much made my entire week.

Other highlights (of perhaps greater note) include designing and directing theatrical productions, taking fascinating classes, meeting lifelong friends and having professors who changed the course of my life.

jessircole@gmail.com