Snapshot: Meet the Class of 2022
Each year, Emerson Today reaches out to graduating seniors from across the College and asks them the same seven questions. Here are some answers from the Class of 2022:
Omar Mardini
Hometown: Lebanon/Qatar/USA
Major: BFA, Theatre
Minors: Business Studies and Entrepreneurship
What is your favorite place around campus?
My favorite place on campus has to be the 14th-floor loft in 2B. It’s such a great place if you just want to sit down and study, hang out with friends, or have an amazing view of the Boston skyline. I also have so many great memories there, like when I lived in 2B over the summer and got an exclusive space to watch the Boston Common fireworks show on the Fourth of July. It was beautiful!
What will you miss the most about your time at Emerson?
Something I’ll miss most about my time at Emerson is the liveliness and energy that exists on campus. There was always something to do, a show to see, a project being filmed; I’ll always miss walking around campus and seeing what’s up with all of my creative and talented peers.
Describe your senior year in three words.
Leadership, Adrenaline, Culmination. This year was so fast-paced, going back to an in-person structure, leading organizations you joined your first year, wrapping up four years of hard work and dedication, and going full-circle back to where we started. It’s an energy that’s hard to shake off.
What was your favorite class, and why?
My favorite class was probably my two Entrepreneurship courses that I took junior year. Being part of a collaborative cohort, sharing our creativity, troubleshooting solutions, and creating a whole business from scratch to a final business pitch was an amazing experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. It has given me peers and colleagues I can call on even after I graduate, and a new sense of what it means to be an entrepreneur in this new world.
What advice do you have for your first-year self?
If I’ve got to say something to my first-year self, it would be to embrace every opportunity that comes your way. During your time at Emerson, a lot of things may scare or intimidate you, but once you realize that the Emerson community is all about collaboration and trying to uplift one another, you will succeed in more ways than you thought possible.
When you look back on your college experience, what are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the way I was able to create community on campus. Coming to Emerson as a third-culture student, I was scared to embrace my full identity on campus. That being said, I realized that I was able to share a perspective with my peers that they might not have been aware of, ultimately leading to greater projects and a stronger sense of community, whether it was part of the Orientation program, student theatre, or fraternity and sorority life.
I was also able to represent the student body as one of two undergraduate student representatives on Emerson’s ongoing Presidential Search Committee, which was an honor I take to heart. When we embrace our different backgrounds and upbringings, we are able to create a space that is rare and exciting, and learn more about each other than we ever thought possible. That is what Emerson is all about.
What’s next (or what do you hope is next)?
After graduating from Emerson in December, I was able to secure a position at the Theatre Communications Group as a Board Liaison, and will be moving to NYC this summer! In this position, the Board Liaison will actively support the implementation and management of TCG’s Board governance ecology as defined in their new strategic plan. It was the experience I gained during my time at Emerson that gave me the qualifications, confidence, and skills to secure such a position, and I couldn’t be more grateful!
Sophia Giordano
Hometown: San Francisco Bay Area
Major: Journalism
What is your favorite place around campus?
My favorite place near campus is Versus! It’s an arcade bar in Downtown Crossing. Go before you graduate!
What will you miss the most about your time at Emerson?
I’ll miss being in the Journalism Production Center. My best friends and memories at Emerson were all made in the JPC. I learned everything I know from my coworkers and from JPC manager Bob Murphy. I wouldn’t be who I am today without their advice and support!
Describe your senior year in three words.
Challenging, Rewarding, Chaotic!
What was your favorite class, and why?
Sports Media, Fandom, and Politics at Emerson Los Angeles! This class solidified my interest in sports, and I was genuinely excited for every class meeting. The discussions in this class pushed me to think critically about sports media issues, and inspired me to pursue more opportunities in sports television.
What advice do you have for your first-year self?
Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself, dedicate more time to things that make you happy, and make having fun a higher priority.
When you look back on your college experience, what are you most proud of?
I’m proud of myself for making the best out of my time at Emerson. It’s been a challenging four years, but I accomplished so much more than I could have ever imagined. I couldn’t have done it without my friends, family, JPC team, and WEBN!
What’s next (or what do you hope is next)?
I will be looking at entry-level television production jobs, ideally in sports or news.
Alyssa Raine Lara
Hometown: Westwood, New Jersey
Major: BFA, Media Arts Production
What is your favorite place around campus?
I feel like the Boston Common has witnessed my entire college career, all its highs and lows, so much so that there is a memory associated with every single part of that park.
But some honorable mentions are: The Cutler Majestic Theatre, where I took a performance art class; the Visitor Center, where I gave tours to prospective students for three years; and my [Colonial] dorm that looked out onto the DiBona Family Studios.
What will you miss the most about your time at Emerson?
I will miss being around so many people who were curious about and wanted to explore the same things I wanted to. I got to collaborate with so many different people in different spaces artistically, whether it was working on set or student theatre. It has been such a huge privilege to have had so much time and resources to play and create and contribute to something fulfilling.
Describe your senior year in three words.
What just happened?
What was your favorite class, and why?
In my junior year, I took a religion class with Amer Latif called Myth: World Made of Stories, that really expanded my view on our consumption of art and media, and how those shape our identities and philosophies. It made me more conscious of my responsibility as an artist to be cognizant of how art affects others socially, politically, and also personally.
What advice do you have for your first-year self?
Be patient because it’s all going to come.
When you look back on your college experience, what are you most proud of?
I am really proud of having been able to experiment and solidify my style and voice as an artist. During my time at Emerson, I wanted to challenge myself: What new things can I say and what new ways can I present it?
In my senior year, I wrote and directed two projects that I am extremely proud of: my thesis film, A Memory Play, and a play produced by Mercutio Troupe called, ALL NIGHT: at a party in the suburbs.
It was really incredible to bring those two worlds I wrote and made up to life, for others to witness, and the people who worked on both processes have become some of my closest friends and collaborators.
What’s next (or what do you hope is next)?
I’m a little superstitious, so I don’t want to divulge in case it doesn’t turn out exactly how I said it would, but I hope it all works out!
I do laugh and joke about how I want to direct a Marvel movie someday. But that would be just for fun.
Diana Mucchiut
Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela
Major: Business of Creative Enterprises
What is your favorite place around campus?
My favorite place on campus is the seventh-floor conference room in Walker. As a BCE major, it’s the hub of all BCE connections and where I met my best friends. It is where I got to know my professors and built my family throughout my four years in college. I started attending BCE Happy Hours when I was a freshman, and now as a senior, I host them – it feels like a full-circle moment. I owe a lot to my major and the people in it, and this space feels like home to me.
What will you miss the most about your time at Emerson?
The friends that became family, and the amazing professors I got to work with: Brenna [McCormick], Wes [Jackson], Stanley [Miller], Bob [Lyons], among others. I learned so much about myself through these experiences, and Emerson shaped me into the person I am today. I will miss being involved in every org and in every BCE plan.
Describe your senior year in three words.
Happy, Immersive, Unforgettable
What was your favorite class, and why?
My favorite class was Senior Residency, because I got to work with my friends on our final project at the College – it was the culmination of all our hard work. It was tough in the beginning, but it made me realize that I love working on creative projects, which is what the class pushed us to do. Even more so because it was taught by Wes Jackson, an incredible mentor, professional, professor, and more.
What advice do you have for your first-year self?
Be happy and don’t lose yourself while trying to fit in. You’re bound to find your place in this world, and the people that will be there with you. You are worth everything you’ve worked hard for, and you have the potential to be great.
When you look back on your college experience, what are you most proud of?
I am proud of the obstacles I endured and could overcome. It takes a lot of self-exploration, but in the end, your college experience helps you mature and shape how you view the world. I am proud of the connections I made and will keep forever; and I’m proud of all the things I tried that I never knew I could enjoy.
What’s next (or what do you hope is next)?
At the moment, I would like to stay in Boston. I want to keep living in a city that I love, working on something that inspires me every day.
Julian Lemus
Hometown: Nantucket, Massachusetts
Major: Marketing Communication
Minor: Psychology
What is your favorite place around campus?
My favorite place around campus is Jaho. It immediately became a second library for me, plus they serve STRONG coffee (which helps during finals week).
What will you miss the most about your time at Emerson?
I will miss walking out of school and immediately stepping into the city – a city where I can live life independently, and have a series of options to eat, study, and shop the second I step in the heart of Boston.
Describe your senior year in three words.
Growth. Acceptance. Wisdom.
What was your favorite class, and why?
My favorite class has been Creative Concepts with Michael Tucker! Michael gave us the creative freedom to come up with a campaign and polish it for the remainder of the semester. This was the first time I felt I was getting hands-on experience with marketing rather than solely learning from textbooks. He guided us through our campaign on how to sell our product better, and I still, to this day, use the strategies he taught me. The knowledge he gave me has been something I carry with me in any project I get my hands on.
What advice do you have for your first-year self?
Advice I’d give myself is to not be too hard on yourself. I walked in Emerson College being a perfectionist and that placed a lot of stress on me. I think the pandemic changed how I view work dramatically. I now only accept jobs that I know I love and believe will help me grow. I say ‘no’ more than I say ‘yes,’ and it has helped my sanity immensely.
When you look back on your college experience, what are you most proud of?
When I look back at my college experience, I am most proud of how much I was able to juggle at the same time while doing school. Especially in my senior year, I was working various jobs while receiving good grades. I never realized how much I was doing until the end, when it was finally time to say goodbye.
What’s next (or what do you hope is next)?
I’m hoping to take my social media presence more seriously, AND involve myself in projects that are more collaborative than independent. I’ve found that I work best in teams who love combining strategy and creativity together.
I also want to travel more, as that has been a passion I never got to step into during my college years. Now that I’ve graduated, I definitely want to add that as a part of my bucket list for 2022.
Emily King
Hometown: North Providence, Rhode Island
Major: Public Relations
Minor: Photography
What is your favorite place around campus?
The eighth floor of Walker! The Department of Communication Studies truly has been like a home to me during my time at Emerson. The welcoming atmosphere, snacks, and of course, Dr. Payne, are some things I’ll definitely miss about the eighth floor.
What will you miss the most about your time at Emerson?
One of the biggest things I’ll miss is connecting with people. I felt like any class I was in or wherever I was on campus, there was always a friendly face I could talk to. I’ve definitely met some of my favorite people at Emerson.
Describe your senior year in three words.
Busy, hopeful, and bittersweet.
What was your favorite class, and why?
My favorite class was probably my Public Relations Capstone with Dr. Maria Scott. Even though it was by far the most challenging work I’ve ever done, I’ve never been more proud of myself or my classmates in a class before.
What advice do you have for your first-year self?
Just relax. It’s OK to be nervous, doubtful, or worried, but everything will fall into place.
When you look back on your college experience, what are you most proud of?
In general, I’m most proud of the portfolio I’ve been able to build. Through classes and internships, I’m really confidence going into the professional world with the work I’ve accomplished.
What’s next (or what do you hope is next)?
Well, I’ve been on the job hunt for weeks. Right now, that’s the priority – so once I secure one, I’ll be able to finally breathe! But in the meantime, I’m going to try to enjoy some time off. I’m excited to see what’s next.
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