By: Lauren Male ’27

As a freshman at a New York City university, especially having come from a small suburban town in Pennsylvania, my experience here has been exciting and eye-opening, to say the least. It’s also been daunting, and often intimidating to the point where I’ve questioned my decisions in coming here— questioned whether I’m truly built for the energy and bustle of the city. I’ve heard similar sentiments echoed by my friends and peers, especially regarding finding internships, then jobs, then, if you’re lucky, a full-time career. With so many people in one city, it may feel, in any endeavor you approach, like you’re competing with hundreds of other people who are smarter, more successful, more talented. I’m here to tell you that you do, indeed, belong here, that you will find your opportunity to succeed— if you look for it— because you live in New York City, not in spite of it.  

This past week, I had the chance to sit down with a family member who’s been a huge role model in my life and a close friend: my aunt, Heather Male. She has a story that started out pretty similarly to what many of us students are going through right now. She knew she had passions in the arts, but didn’t know how to explore those passions while preparing for a career. She attended Fordham University with a major in Communications and minors in Film and Theater. It was here where she realized her passion for acting, starting out with interning as a production assistant just to get herself in the room— or the set— where she learned how a real set works, made connections that would help her land other jobs and internships, and got the opportunity to meet and work with famous directors and celebrities. “One of the biggest lessons I learned from interning was how to deal with and manage difficult people,” she revealed, in reference to a few unnamed directors. These experiences inspired her to apply for and eventually attend a two-year acting conservatory program at William Esper Studio Inc. 

Though Heather was landing whatever acting jobs she could, auditioning for roles in any student film, amateur play, or small theater, her pay was inconsistent, and not quite livable. She supplemented her pay with a waitressing job throughout her acting endeavors. Once she had built enough experience to get accepted into the Screen Actors Guild, create her reel, and pad her resume, she began looking for an agent. She signed to an agent from A3 Artist Agency, who found her more exposed, higher-paid jobs. One of her first television roles was in an episode of Law & Order. Though she has not yet quite achieved her all-time dream of forging for herself a completely creative career, she works closer toward that goal every day, and attributes her ability to do so to the opportunities presented to her by New York City. When asked why she chose to stay in New York over any other major city in the world, she said “opportunity here is like nowhere else on the planet; the amount of opportunity is what makes New York City a standout, and it’s buffeted by the community.” Though sometimes it may feel the opposite, she has found that people are willing to help others seize that opportunity and achieve their dreams— as long as you ask, show up, and work hard.  

The point Heather most emphasized in our conversation was this: don’t be discouraged by the sticker price. There is always a back door, a way around the steep price or complexity or lack of experience— whatever screams at you, telling you it’s impossible to explore your passions or reach your goals. “Coming to New York is like adopting a rabid dog— you have to tame the animal before it tames you.” To many, New York City itself can feel unmanageable, whether it’s the fast pace, the high costs, or the suffocating impostor syndrome of living with the best of the best— but success is possible so long as you tame that beast. From her experience, she learned to just start, no matter how small that start is, because “work always begets more work; opportunity always begets more opportunity.”