Working in the admissions office, one of the first questions I’m asked by new and prospective students is where I’m from and what I study. I’ve become accustomed to the raised eyebrows and tilted heads reflected back at me when I explain that I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I am currently studying film production and screenwriting at Emerson.

I prepare for the inevitable question.

“Why would you want leave Los Angeles to study film across the country? Isn’t that where the film industry is focused?”

It is an excellent point and a logical question, and it gets me every time.

To my surprise, I have found that there are quite a few of us Angelinos digging our hands into Emerson’s film program. Each with our own set of reasons for leaving home. I can’t speak for my fellow uprooted friends, but here is my personal response.

Upon deciding that I wanted to officially take a career jump into the film & television industry, I promised myself three things:

1. I would not study at a program that didn’t prepare me, or provide me with the necessary resources, to begin working professionally upon graduation.

2. I would not study at program that was so large I would feel like my voice was never heard and where hands-on work and personal projects would be impossible to accomplish or discouraged until my final years in school.

3. I would not let myself become overly comfortable by going to school in Los Angeles, for multiple reasons, but mainly because I knew it well. I wanted to take myself out of my natural environment and throw myself into unknown territory. Experience seasons, history, different speech patterns and traffic laws, travel independently, and discover who I am when I am taken away from what is familiar. How can I be a diverse storyteller if all I can relate to is Los Angeles culture? Beyond adventure and challenge, I also knew that I would be returning to L.A. after graduation to pursue my career professionally. This was my chance to have an affair with another city.

It’s no secret that Boston isn’t generally associated with the film industry, although there has been a recent increase in film activity here. Luckily, Emerson is fully aware of this challenge. The VMA (Visual & Media Arts) program at Emerson takes the school’s location into account and makes an effort to compensate for any location-based opportunities they can’t offer by designing a program with personalized benefits that other film schools are unable to compete with (larger schools in particular). Emerson’s film alumni have a reputation for being highly professional, self-motivated, and for often having job opportunities waiting for them before graduation. These specialized program features contribute to our school’s unique “Emerson mafia” alumni network and the hands-on, resumé-building, quality training that Emerson students are capable of receiving.

5 Unique Features of Emerson’s Film Program that Won My Heart:

1. Small class sizes. We’re talking 10-18 people per class. These intimate settings allow for personalized, individual attention and instruction. Professors often learn each student’s name and are committed to helping them problem-solve during and after classes. This becomes particularly helpful in hands-on production classes and when working with new technology.

2. Hands-on film work from day one. Emerson’s program allows students to start taking specific classes in their major right from the start, rather than requiring pre-requisits to be fulfilled first. Instead, requirement classes and major classes are interspersed throughout four years at the student’s discretion. This also means that Emerson underclassman have basic skills and training that film students in other programs may not acquire until their final years in school.

3. You can make your own work, and share it, no strings attached. Emerson does not own the rights to student-made projects like some other schools do, which means we are free to submit to festivals and other sharing events. Any profit we may make from our Emerson work goes to us, rather than the school. Students also make several projects that are completely their own, instead of being forced to work solely on other student’s projects for experience.

4. The “Emerson Mafia.” It’s the nickname we’ve given to our well-respected, tightly-spun web of alumni. Career Services offers all sorts of alumni mentorship programs for current students and many graduates reach back into the Emerson community when recruiting for professional projects. There’s also a Los Angeles program branch at Emerson.

5. Long-term commitment to helping us succeed. Career Services will continue to help graduates long after they’ve left Emerson’s halls by providing them with all sorts of services. The range includes resumé and cover-letter writing consultation to help with deciding on the right health insurance to choose, and even contract negotiation. No matter where our creative endeavors take us, Emerson does its best to help us along the way.