Visit SF State - Word on the Street - Alison Victor
Name...
Alison Victor
Title...
BA, Radio and Television
Hometown...
Palo Alto, CA
Job...
Manager of The Depot, which offers free live music, films and televised sporting events during the academic year on the lower level of the Student Center.
Why SF State..?
The reputation of the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts program. It's well respected. I had a rock 'n' roll career for 13 years and played around the world [lead guitar with a number of bands including AC/DShe, an all-girl AC/DC tribute band]. But I thought it was time to learn something else -- something that comes with a 401K, retirement, health insurance -- grown-up stuff.
Describe a perfect day...
Receiving a phone call at 9 a.m. that I've won a prestigious award [the Peter J. Marino Television Production Scholarship from The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]. ...And then being able to go back to bed!
Favorite SF State faculty member...
Miriam Smith -- she's so funny and delivers the information in a really interesting way. She's been very supportive. And Michelle Wolf. Her energy is phenomenal -- I want to be her when I grow up.
Other projects you are working on...
I'm doing a documentary with [SF State alumnus and broadcaster] Fred Inglis at Channel 2 on disabled hockey players who skate with sleds.
Long-term goals...
Making documentaries, teaching at the college level and getting a Ph.D. at UCLA or USC. I'm interested in media literacy, media activism and the study of aesthetics.
Favorite off-campus hangout...
I'm a bicyclist and so is my husband. I do 20 miles a day along the ocean.
What book is currently on your nightstand..?
"Almost There: The Onward Journey of a Dublin Woman," by Nula O'Faolain. She's an op-ed writer, feminist. It's the follow-up to the best-selling "Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman." And I'm reading "Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180" by Mike Magnuson. The author is a creative writing professor in Illinois who has always been a drinker and a smoker but he decides he's going to be a bicyclist and drop 80 pounds.
Guilty pleasure...
Watching TV talk shows like "Montel," "Oprah" and dare I say it, "Jerry Springer." That's a pretty guilty pleasure for a media student. I guess I just outed myself.
What person, dead or living, would you most like to meet..?
Albert Einstein. I think it would be fun to talk to him. And Richard Branson [the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group].
Most proud of...
It's been a while back, but being on six albums. And getting my documentary ['Sailors First'] to air on television across the country. And definitely winning the Emmy scholarship. I beat out all the Ivy Leaguers. ...Go Gators!
What is the toughest thing about being you..?
There are too many things that I want to do all at once.
