Jacklyn Grad graduated from Salisbury University in 2007 with her B.A. in psychology. She played Ultimate Frisbee (Go Flash!) on campus and participated in independent study through the Psychology Department. After graduating, she worked at a non-profit organization focusing on youth programming and supervised staff and participant experience. She later pivoted and went back to school to study documentary filmmaking and is currently an editor based in the Philly area. What are you currently up to? I am currently living in the Philadelphia area and mainly working for myself. I have a filmmaking and editing business, working on all types of projects from commercial marketing, to wedding videos, social media content and everything in between. What path did you take to get to where you are now? After graduating from Salisbury, I thought I would have applied for a graduate program and taken my studies to a higher education. No program was feeling right, so I took some time and found a nonprofit organization to get involved with. I spent five years working in Washington, DC, mostly focusing on youth programming and engagement. This was a great way to use my experience at Salisbury in real-time, supporting participants in our programs as well as supervising our staff members. I really wanted to explore a more creative path, so I went back to school to study documentary filmmaking and photography in mid-coast Maine. This experience changed my life and opened up possibilities for a totally different career path. Right after school, I started freelancing on different projects with different people. I moved out to LA for two years and found my way back to the East Coast freelancing and working for myself. I always tell people that my degree helped me have a deeper understanding of where people come from and why they are the way they are, which helps me be a better storyteller. What was one highlight about your time in the SU Psychology Department that stands out? I transferred to Salisbury after my freshman year, so I had only three years to complete my full degree. I was super supported by my advisor and other psychology professors to hustle but still have a great experience. I am grateful to each of them. What do you know now that you wish you had known as a student? Listen to your gut! There is no linear path next, especially in psychology. I think there’s an assumption that you should right away go to graduate school for therapy or research or something else that feels pretty obvious. I wish I knew I could give myself time and space to figure out what was right for me. If something feels right, go for it! If it feels off, explore that and figure out why. Where do you see yourself in five years? I hope in five years to have my business expanded and have a team of people working underneath me. I also hope to have some property in Maine, living a little bit of a homesteader’s life. |