Join us on Thursday, April 29, at 4:30 p.m. EDT for a Professional Directions panel, “Life after college in film/TV/media” with Mark DiStefano ’16, Kelly Riopelle ’20, and Samantha Weisman ’15.
Link to the Zoom session: bit.ly/LifeAfterCollegePD
Samantha Weisman (’15) graduated with a degree in communication and film. She now works at ViacomCBS as a marketing manager where she creates branded programming and influencer marketing. She has also worked as a production assistant for Netflix and CBS shows. During her time at Cornell, she served as the Student President of Cornell Hillel, and is now a member of the Cornell Jewish Young Alumni Committee. Samantha lives on the Upper West Side of New York City with her fiancé David (CAS '15) and their dog Zoey.
Mark DiStefano (’16) is a writer and filmmaker based in New York City. He makes his living in post production and has worked for such clients as HBO, Vice News Tonight, Amazon Prime, and Warner Bros. For the last two years he has worked in dailies and was fortunate enough to be a dailies operator for In The Heights (dir. John Chu), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (dir. George C. Wolfe), and Tick Tick Boom! (dir. Lin Manuel Miranda). As a filmmaker, his latest short, “A Black Sleep,” was selected for the NY No Limits Film Series, The REEL Recovery Film Festival & Symposium, and The Paris Liftoff Film Festival.
Kelly Riopelle (’20) graduated with a BA in American Studies and minors in both Business and Film. During her time at Cornell she was involved with the Centrally Isolated Film Festival, and as a tutor for the Cornell Writing Centers. She previously interned in the mailroom at United Talent Agency's headquarters in Beverly Hills and at Circle of Confusion, a management and production company known for AMC's The Walking Dead. Currently, she works for a talent manager at Range Media Partners, a start-up representation company founded by former agents from CAA, UTA, and WME.
This event is free and open to the public and is part of the Department of ' Professional Directions series, which invites industry experts to speak about their career journeys as screenwriters, playwrights, editors, producers, directors, theatre critics, dramaturgs, and more.
