RTN about Odessa Woolfolk by Jessica Duff

Top quotes:

“I don’t think anybody who has been successful has had a pain-free life. Pain, embarrassment, falling on your face–those are motivators.”

“You owe it to yourself to figure out how you can make it better for the next generation.”

Milestones:

• Discrimination was a daily part of life when she was growing up in Birmingham, Alabama.
• Hometown nicknamed “Bombingham” because of the consequences for anyone questioning the status quo.
• Studied history and political science at Talladega College and earned a master’s in urban studies.
• Interested in teaching from a young age; taught high school at the height of civil rights movement.
• Worked in public policy and top-level administration in New York and Washington D.C.
• Taught at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, where a community service award is named for her.
• Helped create the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Walter Murch is a Hollywood film editor and sound designer who is known for his work in “The Godfather,” and “Apocalypse Now.” His biggest achievement is creating a new sound format that was first used in “Apocalypse Now,” that became a standardized format for future films, despite negative criticism in the process of creating it. He graduated from USC with George Lucas and has made a successful career in sound design, even coining the term himself.

-Hannah Urso-Eades

I have been inspired by Rachael Taylor’s story! Truly, a fun listen. I highly recommend this website, Roadtrip Nation, to anyone who doesn’t know what step to take in their career.

By: Taylor Powelson

• Always loved drawing; he knew he wasn’t the greatest artist, but he also knew he wanted to improve.
• He went to the School of Visual Arts in New York City and majored in computer art.
• Says that the drive to improve will give you the leg up on someone who is naturally talented because you’ll be prepared to work hard.
• Believes that once you learn and accept that you’ll have to work hard, that hard work gets easier.
• Says familiarizing yourself with the vast scope of jobs that are out there helps ease the pressure of trying to fit yourself into one box.
• Says it’s hard not to rush through your work and to want to be really good at something really quickly, but you have to have patience.

by Anna

Glass grew up in an area where smart kids were expected to become doctors, but he always had an interest in media. He took two summer jobs, one at a hospital, one at NPR: “At the end of that summer, it seemed very clear which one was more appealing.” Glass says that the best thing to do is force yourself into doing the work, and the skills will eventually com; he believes hard work can make a person talented. “… even the stuff you’re really good at, you’re not good at right away.”

by: Cole B.

Milestones:

• Born into a working-class family in Pennsylvania; she lost her father when she was a child and watched as her mother struggled to support her family.
• She had always had a passion for art, but was convinced that she couldn’t make a practical career out of it.
• Originally went to college to be a nurse; has an associate degree in nursing from Northampton Community College.
• Her friend gave her an SLR camera so she decided to take a photography class at her community college—says, “The first time that I developed a print, that was the defining moment.”
• She enrolled at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study photography—says she discovered her niche after taking a class in journalism.
• Has worked as a staff photographer for The Miami Herald and The Washington Post; she now works mainly as a freelancer.
• She has won the Pulitzer Prize four times—one of only four people to do so, and the only journalist to have achieved that feat.
• Says her nursing background has made her a better photojournalist: ”It gave me the foundations of compassion and empathy…if you don’t have those things then you can’t tell someone’s story.”

By: John Adair