Tuesday, April 15, 2014

She's a Fellow



Ya'll know I love this child, right? So bear with me, here comes some mom bragging! I also love this photo, from a trip we took to Topsail Island a few years ago with my art pals. What a great time we had. I love that smile on her face. That smile has been a fleeting thing these past three years!

This girl has had a long three years in film school. First year was adjusting to dorm life with a room mate and being home sick and all that comes with your first year of college. Truth be known, it was pretty rough for her dad and me too! Second year, she had a single dorm room, she was lonely, there were some crazy people showing up in her life and the teachers were tough. They were going with the weed out the weaklings program, and Wesley had to fight hard to survive in a very male dominated arena. She almost quit, applied for another school, didn't get in. The Universe knew where she belonged.

This year has probably been the hardest of all though. She lives in a house with two boys, and I do mean BOYS. That has been hard. She has had to learn to prepare her own meals, shop for groceries, manage house issues and deal with a really hard school program. School has been the hardest yet, it seems to me that she is writing a screenplay 24/7 and her professors picked her out to apply for everything that came up. She applied for a Sundance workshop, she was turned down, applied for a rather large scholarship, turned down, pitched her monk film last week at River Run Film Festival, didn't win. She made the first cut for teams competing for the Kenan Cirque de Soule program, but her team didn't make the final cut. A big year of rejections, but with the rejections came other opportunities and lessons learned and growth, so all was not wasted.

BUT! TODAY! She got a call. The faculty encouraged her to apply for the Kenan Fellowship, and she GOT IT!!!!   http://www.uncsa.edu/kenan/currentprojects12.htm

I am sooooo proud, can you tell?! So my baby girl will be going to Boston this summer to work with WGBH Boston public television and document the Cirkus program she didn't make the cut for.  She has lived in a world of journalism all her life, and if it made sense she would probably try for a job at a newspaper, but alas, the newspaper business is all but dead. Her dad has strongly advised against that path, knowing all to well where it is leading. He encourages her to look to the future of journalism whatever that may be, and I believe documentary journalism could very well be in her future. The skills she is getting at UNCSA are amazing and will serve her well whatever path she chooses. Money well spent on a college education, I would say!

CONGRATS WESLEY, We love you!!!!!
xo

17 comments:

Vicki said...

Congrats Wesley!
A beautiful, strong girl - inside and out.
Life's lessons can be hard indeed, but with your inner strength and support from wonderful parents, you'll find the right path and you'll thrive!

Anna M. Branner said...

Fantastic! Go Wesley!

Dennis Allen said...

All those trials taught important lessons. how hard could she work, how much could she stand. Boot Camp. Congratulations to all of you.

smartcat said...

Congratulations Wesley! Welcome to New England and our own precious WGBH! Toes crossed that you have a great experience!

smartcat said...

P.S. Kuddos to you and Gerry for raising a great one!

cookingwithgas said...

WOOT! And hip,hip hooray!
This is just wonderful!

Michèle Hastings said...

Yahoo for Wesley! WGBH is the BEST, we really miss listening since we moved south.

oldgreymareprimitives said...

I actually squealed and clapped my hands together so hard I hurt them. Now I could be getting misty eyed..yep I am. I am so proud of this girl I have never met.

Tracey Broome said...

Awww, you guys are just the very BEST! Thanks sooooo much for sharing this joy with us, you are great friends!
Xoxo

littlemancat said...

Yay Wesley! And Mom and Dad too! I think that when our children do well, it's the best life can give us.
Mary

Lori Buff said...

That's fantastic. Congratulations Wes. All that hard work is paying off already.

Laura Farrow said...

I'd say she's a supah stah!!!

Tracey Broome said...

Mary, it is so true, the best thing is watching Wesley grow and bloom!
Hey Lori, that's the thing about hard work, isn't it? Eventually it does pay off!
Laura, definitely a super star in my book!!
Thanks ya'll

Sandy Miller said...

Well how super cool is that!! Congratulations to one and all!! I love Boston and bet you guys will too! The universe is an amazing place :)

Tracey Broome said...

I do like Boston, unfortunately this is a one girl show, no parents allowed. A girls gotta leave the nest sometime:)
It is super cool though!

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Hollis Engley said...

What great news. We all knew that this is a talented woman. And she'll be in a great city, with great art, music, dance, pots, all of that stuff. Oh, and the Red Sox. Do tell her that if she ever wants to get away to Cape Cod during her time in the city, the same room is waiting for her in Falmouth. And the Martin is still here for her to play.