Life is never a simple, straight line progression. New York Film Academy (NYFA) grad and Austin, Texas resident Nicole Cross made tremendous progress following her graduation. Then, in response to a family crisis, the award-winning anchor/presenter left the TV industry altogether. But, as they used to say on American radio newscasts, “there is good news tonight.” Nicole wrote the following:
When I stepped away from the tv industry for family reasons last year, I didn’t know if I’d return. Leaving a job I truly loved, turning down job offers outside of Austin to keep my kiddos stably in the same community/schools, patiently working behind the scenes until I was once again free to step in front of the camera.. it has indeed been a journey, but NOW I can officially announce that with best wishes from @kvuenews, I have accepted an offer from @spectrumnewsatx/ @spectrumnewssa to anchor newscasts AND host #InFocusTX, a 30-minute community and public affairs program that broadcasts in #Austin, #San Antonio, and #Waco. This is my dream job… To top that off, my boss is super supportive, my colleagues are top-notch, and the schedule is in perfect harmony with my family time. What I know for sure is that family is worth the sacrifice, balance is key, sometimes you have to pull back to spring forward, and you WILL win if you don’t quit.
Nicole, we are all happy for you!
Students who study at New York Film Academy leave here with both a strong production skill set as well as lots of memories. One of the ways they demonstrate those memories is by referring back to their NYFA days online. Recently I was looking at the LinkedIn page of Laura Taglianetti, who is an Associate Producer with NBC News. And her profile picture dates back to her student days at NYFA. (I recognize the old-style “flag” on her microphone.)
Thanks for remembering us, Laura!
Recently I had the chance to travel to the other side of the world, to Kazakhstan in Central Asia. I was there to participate in a conference on digital storytelling, along with folks from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria.
It was a fabulous opportunity to compare notes with international colleagues. I even got the chance to test out the news anchor/presenter’s seat at one of the major Kazakh TV channels. But I must admit, I had a bit of trouble reading the teleprompter copy…
