Sacred Heart Greenwich seniors Olivia Christensen, Lé-Anne Johnson, Eloise Moulton, Isabelle Pipher, Sofia Pye, and Lilly Thompson will study film, journalism, and media at their respective universities next year.  These five seniors will utilize the skills they have learned in Sacred Heart’s media programs to pursue their passions in the news and communications industry.

Lilly will spend her college career at Texas Christian University studying Cinema and Media Studies to gain insight into filmmaking.  The cinema industry piqued Lilly’s interest because she has always enjoyed and appreciated films.  She is excited to learn what happens behind the scenes in the film industry and meet new people who share her love for cinema.  Although Lilly is unsure about what she will do beyond college, she anticipates exploring a variety of career paths.

“I do not currently know exactly what I want to do in the future, but hopefully I find something I am passionate about in college and pursue that,” Lilly said.  “I have always been very interested in cinematography, so I might try to pursue that specifically in the oncoming years.”

Isabelle will be a Communications and Broadcast Journalism major at Elon University.  She has been a part of Sacred Heart’s monthly news show, Today From The Heart, for three years, where she had the opportunity to be a reporter, news anchor, and executive producer.  Most recently, Isabelle was one of the hosts for the annual Sacred Heart Film Festival.  Creating content for these shows has allowed Isabelle to learn about the different aspects of broadcast journalism and furthered her interest in the communications field.  Next year at Elon, she expects to learn new film techniques, meet professors, and take engaging classes.  In the future, Isabelle hopes to become an anchor for a major news network, like National Broadcasting Company (NBC) or Cable News Network (CNN).

In the fall, Eloise will begin her studies as a Journalism and Fashion History major at the New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study.  She enjoys writing and has produced fashion articles for two publications while in high school.  Additionally, Eloise’s experience in her English classes at Sacred Heart inspired her to examine the social and economic impacts of fashion.  After college, she plans to pursue a career as a journalist at a major publication with a focus on fashion.  Eloise is eager to spend the next four years in New York City while learning more about journalism.

At Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications (Newhouse), Sofia will study Television, Radio, and Film, while potentially minoring in Political Science.  During her time in the Upper School, Sofia has created documentaries in the Broadcast Journalism elective, in addition to participating in Sacred Heart’s Journalism program through editing and writing articles for the King Street Chronicle.  Along with these programs at Sacred Heart, Sofia has taken media courses at The School of The New York Times, New York Film Academy, the University of Notre Dame, and Syracuse University.  She believes that her immersion in these programs has developed her passion for digital media and storytelling.  Sofia plans to engage in many of the diverse media opportunities Syracuse offers during her time on campus.

“My hope for the future is to integrate my two interests of government politics and digital media,” Sofia said.  “In college, I would like to be a part of The Daily Orange, Syracuse University’s student newspaper, and other journalism clubs. ”

Olivia will also begin her college career at Syracuse University in Newhouse studying Film, Television, and Radio.  Olivia discovered her passion for broadcast journalism in her Real World Filmmaking class.  Her major will allow her to deepen her knowledge of entertainment while furthering her growth as a filmmaker.  Olivia credits Ms. Ellyn Stewart, Broadcast Journalism Studio Director and Broadcast Journalism Teacher, with instructing her how to be a filmmaker and giving her creative freedom when crafting pieces.  In the future, Olivia sees herself working behind the camera, directing and producing films.  She hopes to create films under the guidance of professors as well as collaborating with new classmates.  

Lé-Anne will continue her studies at Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in Film and Media Studies on a pre-law track.  She began making creative films in sixth grade and has written screenplays, developed shot lists, made casting decisions, filmed scenes, and edited post-production material during high school.  As a student in the Journalism elective, Lé-Anne has been writing and editing articles for the King Street Chronicle for the past three years.  Lé-Anne’s continued passion for filmmaking inspired her to choose her major.  Eventually, she would like to pursue a career in either defense law or entertainment law. 

“I chose Film and Media Studies because I love filmmaking,” Lé-Anne said.  “It allows me to present different perspectives on everyday stories while also inspiring viewers.  Films do not just tell stories, they can challenge our thoughts about people, places, and ideas.  I enjoy the process of producing a story, bringing it to life through film, and sharing either an important message or an entertaining story to viewers.”

Featured Image by Lindsay Benza ’23