• Miriam Harries, Entertainment Technology Graduate Student

    "While at Luther, I thought that the fact that I didn't spend all my time on one subject was going to be a problem, but I now realize that all my various activities have set me up perfectly for the hybrid career I want to pursue."

Miriam Harries '16

Finding the Right Fit at Luther

Miriam first looked at Luther because it was one of a few liberal arts colleges that had majors in computer science, statistics, and theatre. As a prospective student, she knew she wanted to academically pursue all three, and was glad to find that Luther had all of those programs. Miriam also liked that Luther was a small school and reasonably close to her home in the Twin Cities. But what really sold her was how welcoming the people were. “It was a place that I could honestly picture myself being in.” she says.

Luther’s liberal arts program allowed Miriam to continue doing theater while pursuing majors in computer science and statistics. The faculty encouraged her to study a variety of subjects, and helped her find and create the opportunities she needed. She acted, worked backstage, and served as stage manager and assistant director in mainstage productions. She also got to be technical director for the student-led SPIN Theatre Company. Miriam also participated in the Midwest Undergraduate Data Analytics Competition her junior and senior year. For work study, she had jobs in Jewel Theater’s scene shop and in the library as a writing tutor. Luther allowed Miriam to pursue all her passions.

Growing through the Theatre Program

“My experiences working with the theater program had the biggest impact on me,” Miriam says. It gave her many opportunities to explore different areas of production and performance, which allowed her to develop skills along the way.

One of these opportunities was working in the theater scene shop. “I learned so much about the process of putting a show together in the scene shop,” Miriam says, “as well as practical skills like building and painting, which have come in handy when I've needed to create props in graduate school.” Miriam built a fake hot air balloon basket for Carnegie Mellon University’s 2016 Fall Festival, and her work in Luther’s scene shop gave her invaluable experience for that task.

Discovering a Path to Graduate School

Miriam went straight from Luther College to Carnegie Mellon’s Master of Entertainment Technology Program. “While at Luther, I thought that the fact that I didn't spend all my time on one subject was going to be a problem,” Miriam says, “but I now realize that all my various activities have set me up perfectly for the hybrid career I want to pursue.” Miriam hopes to intern for a themed entertainment company and perhaps work in experience design when she graduates.

Extracurriculars

Theatre:
  • Backstage worker
  • Stage manager
  • Actor
  • Assistant director
Student-led SPIN Theatre:
  • Technical Director

Advice to First-Year Students

Take the opportunity to try the things you're interested in, even if you don't think they're what you want to pursue for a career. Fit in a just-for-fun class or an extracurricular you're excited about. You might surprise yourself with what you learn.