University of Richmond alumni share insights on working in creative industries
On Nov. 13, the Jepson Student Government Association hosted its second “Leadership: The Room Where It Happens” program, which brings alumni to campus to share leadership insights from a particular industry. Lauren Fitzgerald, a 1997 leadership studies major; Dillon Krause, a 2010 leadership studies and finance major; and Caroline McNamara, a 2018 leadership studies and classical studies major, discussed their work in creative industries with students, faculty, and staff.
Fitzgerald is vice president of marketing and communications for New 42, a nonprofit created in 1990 to revitalize New York City’s 42nd Street theater district. The organization operates New Victory Theater, which brings performances and performing arts education to young people, and New 42 Studios, which offers performing artists rehearsal and creative spaces in the heart of Times Square.
The nonprofit’s mission to ensure children and families of all backgrounds have access to the arts aligns with Fitzgerald’s commitment to social justice. She said it is a commitment she began to develop in her Jepson School of Leadership Studies classes. “Kids who engage with the arts regularly have more positive outlooks on life, feel better about their futures, and think theater is for them,” she said.
Her Jepson School education also helped her hone her writing skills and learn how to collaborate with others. “I remember being awake for hours working on a group project for our Critical Thinking class,” she said. “It was intense, and we cared about what we were writing. We did a lot of group work at Jepson, which is how the world works. Writing and collaborating are crucial skills in the creative industries.”
Dillon Krause had been working in finance for five-and-a-half years and was on the verge of enrolling in a graduate business program at the University of Virginia in 2016 when he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian instead. Today he works in finance in New York City by day and moonlights as a stand-up comic.
His early fascination with comedy led him to binge watch Seinfeld, he said. He learned that comedian Larry David, who co-created the NBC sitcom with Jerry Seinfeld, jotted down his ideas for jokes in a notebook. Krause said he started doing the same thing as a junior at the University of Richmond. He added that he also draws on his Jepson education in creating his comedy routines.
“The debates we had in my Critical Thinking class were about how to form an argument,” Krause said. “Jokes are effectively arguments — you lay them out and then defend them. At Jepson, we also looked at contemporary issues and formulated opinions, which relates directly to what I do as a comedian.”
Like Krause, McNamara was ensconced in a steady career — as a paralegal — when she decided to follow her aspiration of becoming a filmmaker. She earned a Master of Arts in TV fiction writing from Glasgow Caledonian University. Subsequently, she completed a certificate in film and TV industry essentials from New York University and a certificate in directing and theatrical production from the University of California Los Angeles. Now she is an awarding-winning freelance filmmaker and a freelance journalist.
McNamara released her first short film, A Date with Destiny, in April 2024. The film, which focused on a plot to reclaim an iconic stone for Scotland, won numerous national and international awards. She is an executive producer on the Netflix series The Beast in Me, released last month. And she is the director, writer, cinematographer, executive producer, and composer of the forthcoming short film, The LA Story, now in post-production.
“When managing people on sets, I have to know how much leeway to give them,” the filmmaker said. “I create opportunities for people to shine, make space to create something even better than I ever imagined. Directing is like sitting at the window of a plane — you can see everything, but you can’t control everything.”
The three alumni encouraged students to take risks and follow their passions.
“Before I started doing stand-up, I felt like a crab trying to crawl out of a bucket of boiling water,” Krause said. He added that he has no regrets about his decision to become a comedian.
“Anyone can break into the industry,” McNamara said. “Just do it. Use your iPhone to create a film.”
Fitzgerald offered students some practical advice: “Take advantage of your time in college to connect to people. Go to Career Services — it’s what you’re paying for!”