“[A] cosmic Colgate connection is how I found myself working [in the film industry after college],” remarked Carolina van der Mensbrugghe ’10 during a Film and Media Studies Brown Bag luncheon last Friday.
Carolina van der Mensbrugghe ’10 (center) when she participated in the Model European Union conference as a student.
Van der Mensbrugghe landed her initial job at Stick Figure Productions with the help of Career Services and the company’s co-founder Steven Cantor ’90. She now works for HBO’s documentary TV series Vice.
“[The work] can be draining sometimes,” said Van der Mensbrugghe, who also gave a talk on documentary journalism the day before. “But I think the only way that anyone in film and media gets through the grind and the gruel of it, in the thick of heavy production, is [their] passion and love for it. For me, the excitement, the thrill, and love for moving images is what makes it all worth it.”
Joining her at the luncheon was Caitlin Grossjung ’13, who also spoke about pursuing a career in film and media thanks to a cosmic Colgate connection. That connection was Van der Mensbrugghe — the first person Grossjung contacted after graduation because she wanted to pursue a career with her film and media studies minor (she majored in political science). Van der Mensbrugghe brought Grossjung on board at Stick Figure Productions as an intern.
Caitlin Grossjung ’13 regularly performed at the Barge as a student.
“I would recommend for anyone to start by being an intern,” said Van der Mensbrugghe, who was a double major in international relations and theater at Colgate.
“It is possible to do this right out of college — figure out what people are doing and the different pathways,” said Grossjung, an associate producer at Stick Figure. She is currently working on the reality adventure series called Catching Hell: An Underwater Original, which will premiere on the Weather Channel.
The alumnae also encouraged students to take advantage of the resources at Colgate, both in terms of free equipment rental and material. “There’s a lot of opportunity here,” emphasized Grossjung. “You just have to grab it. Everything around Colgate is great documentary content.”
“I found the talk incredibly helpful,” noted film and media studies minor Leah Robinson ’16. “They gave detail as to exactly what their day-to-day [work involves] and what steps they took after graduating to obtain their jobs and internships.”
After hearing about their work, the audience got a teaser of Catching Hell, and Van der Mensbrugghe showed a clip from Searching for Gauchos, a documentary she worked on at Stick Figure Productions.