Student Life
Following Her Inner Voice
There are those people who are lucky enough to know what they want out of life. Then there are those who are still searching. Cassie Ross had fallen into the latter category, but this Penn State Altoona junior's search is now over.
Ross, a native of Altoona, first attended Penn State Altoona ten years ago. Undecided in her career path and having switched her major four times, Ross decided to leave the college in her junior year and head to Boston and then to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of acting.
Upon arrival in California, Ross phoned a friend of a friend for a job interview. As fate would have it, she was "in the right place at the right time." The friend worked for Miramax Films, and they were hiring. She quickly landed a job in the World Wide Promotions department, and was told to start immediately. "I couldn't go back home to get clothes, I had no apartment, I literally just had to start this job," says Ross.
Surrendering any hope of acting, Ross diligently worked at Miramax for the next five and a half years as a business liaison. Yet her countenance dropped as she continued. Reflects Ross, "I started to feel my heart dwindling. I was torn between performing a job well at Miramax—a job that people envied—and knowing that this career just wasn't in my heart."
Following her instincts and her heart, Ross gave up her job, moved to Virginia, and applied to Old Dominion University. "I just didn't think I could handle being back in Altoona after having lived in other places and having done so much," she says.
Homeward Bound
But when a good friend phoned to say she was moving back to Altoona, Ross decided to join her and finish her undergraduate degree at Penn State Altoona. Returning to her roots, she also returned to her goal of acting and ultimately enrolled in the college's Integrative Arts degree program. Now, just 40 credits away from realizing her dream, Ross is in her element.
Although she first signed up for classes to complete a business and marketing/management degree, Ross quickly changed her path. "I remember getting started and thinking to myself, no way, I'm too creative." She credits Robin Reese, assistant professor of theatre arts, with inspiring her to follow her dream. States Ross, "Professor Reese has been an amazing acting coach and mentor, getting me back into my own groove with my passion—acting."
Returning home has been a cultural transition for Ross. The oldest of five children, two of whom are still at home, Ross has experienced some interesting situations. Her brother, more than ten years her junior, attends Penn State Altoona with Ross. "He actually is in one of my classes, which is crazy since we've never been in school together before."
Life as a TV Sitcom
Living at home with her siblings after living on her own for years, Ross feels "like I've returned home with my tail between my legs. I have the room in the attic with all the exercise equipment, and my stuff is in my trunk. Everything is everywhere." Quips Ross, "I feel like a TV sitcom in the making. Needless to say, life has been very interesting—but great for my poetry."
Yet Ross has taken the transition in stride. "I've found a cool coffee shop in Hollidaysburg that reminds me of big city life. I also go to every speaker on campus and have discovered some cool things in downtown Altoona, like the symphony and the art museums."
Although there is a part of Ross that wished she was lying in the sun somewhere exotic, she challenged herself to study during spring break. She notes that the notion of 'fun' has changed for her. "Now, my kind of fun is feeding my head with whatever I can. I don't know if that will change if I move back to a big city, but I have a feeling it won't. I've actually matured."
Ross has observed that younger students are accepting of the nontraditional adult student on campus. She attributes this to the fact that "we are all in the same place—trying to find ourselves—no matter what our age." Ross recalls her earlier days at Penn State Altoona and being "fascinated with the older students, because they had already lived some life. Now I'm that older person that the kids ask 'where are you from,' or 'how old are you?'"
Ross is confident that her journey back to Penn State Altoona was the right decision for her. She likens the college's motto—Opening Doors, Opening Minds—to that of her own. States Ross, "Every experience here is a door opening for me. It is so exciting!"