Alumna Peggy Rajski shares filmmaking expertise with students
An Academy Award-winning producer and director recently returned to
the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with some advice for those she
called “the next generation of filmmakers.”
Peggy Rajski, a 1975
graduate of UW-Stevens Point, spoke to students as part of Communication Week, which
brings professional alumni back to the university to share insights
with those studying in their fields. Rajski was named the 2014 College
of Fine Arts and Communication Distinguished Alumnus, one of seven
alumni recognized at a banquet Sept. 27.
In a master class session
and networking session for filmmaking and communication students,
Rajski discussed the path she took from UW-Stevens Point to becoming an Oscar winner
for “Trevor,” a short film about a young man’s struggles as he comes
out as gay. Her work on that project led her to co-creating The Trevor
Project, a 24-hour suicide hotline specifically for gay and questioning
youth.
Rajski went on to describe her work directing television
and producing other films, including “Eight Men Out,” and took questions
from students about their own film projects.
What undergraduates
are learning at the university will aid their success, she said.
“UW-Stevens Point was very important to me. It gave me exactly what I
needed for the professional world.”
Her education at UW-Stevens Point helped
her move up quickly in a production group she joined after graduating.
“From learning how to work a camera to learning in my constitutional law
class, it shaped me as a person,” she said. “I’m the proselytizer of a
liberal education.”
Now teaching at New York University, Rajski
said she enjoys speaking to students and sharing her experiences. “I
love hearing their stories and what they are thinking about. It’s
provocative to me. I like that what I can share with them is valuable to
the next generation of filmmakers and artists — that I can be a small
part of it."
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