When Alex Waters, AB ’14, moved to Los Angeles eight months after earning a bachelor’s degree in film and media studies from WashU, she knew almost no one in the area. The City of Angels felt alien and overwhelming to the New Jersey native who had just spent the past four years in the Midwest. So, to find her footing, she leaned on a place that felt more like home: her alma mater.
Waters could not have scripted her timing any better. WashU’s Alumni Association had recently launched HollyWU, a professional network for Los Angeles–based alumni working in the entertainment industry, and the group hosted a kickoff party in April 2015.
“I had just landed my first job and was so excited to meet people,” Waters recalls. A pair of familiar faces stood out to her at the bustling event. Waters realized she had previously met two of HollyWU’s co-founders, Laura Harbron, AB ’10, and Merigan Mulhern, BS ’10, when she traveled to Los Angeles with the Center for Career Engagement’s Bear Treks program as an undergrad. They immediately welcomed her back to the city and encouraged her to help them grow the fledgling network as a member of the executive committee.
Waters was all in, and HollyWU became a lifeline during her first year in Los Angeles. “It was pretty much my entire social calendar,” she says. She and other group leaders organized monthly get-togethers like happy hours, trivia nights and outdoor film screenings.
Their initial ambitions were modest but essential. They wanted to become a resource and a source of community for WashU grads in the city’s entertainment industry, particularly younger alumni and recent transplants. “This town can be very lonely,” Waters says. “Not everyone can help you secure a job or an internship. But it’s important to know there are people who are willing to assist in small ways that matter both professionally and personally, from making introductions to reading your résumé or script to finding a place to live.”
The network has flourished over the years and so has Waters, who wrapped up a three-year stint as a music supervisor for CBS’ The Talk in December. No longer the newcomer, she is now a relative industry veteran eager to mentor WashU grads looking to break into film, television or music.
As HollyWU approaches its second decade, Waters hopes even more alumni will lend their industry connections, experience and talents to uplift the next generation. She would eventually like to see the network rival those at peer institutions with bigger entertainment footprints. In the wake of devastating fires that affected much of Los Angeles, the sense of community offered by the network will be especially invaluable to many in the entertainment industry as they regroup and recover.
“I believe there is a future in which HollyWU’s members are just as successful as any big-ticket writers, directors, producers or studio executives working today,” Waters says. “And I hope they use their success to give back.”
An Empire City expansion
Nivedita Kulkarni, BSBA ’07, was in a different professional phase when she crossed paths with the entertainment network and blazed a new trail for it. After graduating from WashU with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Kulkarni landed her dream role as an advertising account executive in the New York office of Saatchi & Saatchi. A year into the post, however, she quit to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an actor.
Kulkarni began working steadily as a performer, writer and producer. She quickly learned that keeping her dream alive required perseverance — and people. “The entertainment industry is incredibly murky,” she says. “There are no clear career paths, so you really need to form connections to make it.”
A natural networker, the Chicago native built a solid support system of her own. After attending an Alumni Association–sponsored gathering in 2017, she saw an opportunity to channel her experience and help bring together other WashU grads navigating entertainment careers in New York. Kulkarni pitched her idea to Suzanne Wagstaff, now senior director of alumni networks, and the entertainment network’s New York chapter was a go.
“In the beginning, we didn’t really realize how many people in New York’s entertainment industry have ties to WashU, whether as alumni or parents,” Kulkarni says. “But once we started organizing events, they came out of the woodwork!”
The chapter has hosted a diverse range of in-person and virtual programs. Some, like the “State of the Entertainment Industry” conference in September 2023, are more formal. The daylong event featured substantive panel discussions on ongoing industry strikes, women in entertainment and future trends. Other outings place greater emphasis on fostering social and professional connections.
“I recommend spending at least 50% of your time networking,” Kulkarni says. “If you want to make it in this difficult, cutthroat business, it’s critical to have a network of allies like this one.”
Kulkarni, who plans to stay active in the network after her tenure as chapter chair concludes in June, remains grateful for what she considers WashU’s greatest strength: generosity. “There’s a true Midwestern quality to this community,” she says. “Regardless of their success, our alumni and friends are down-to-earth and willing to give their time and expertise. By choosing WashU, you opt in to that sensibility.”
It only takes one
Esther Merczynski, AB ’24, has already seen the WashU spirit in action. After earning a bachelor’s degree in film and media studies last May, she returned to her hometown of New York hoping to secure an entry-level position in movies or television. The job hunt is a full-time gig, but Merczynski is making headway with the help of the WashU community.
Last September, she received an invitation from Carina Greenberg, AB ’21, to intern as a production assistant on an independent short film. The two first connected on LinkedIn, and Greenberg thought of her when it came time to hire crew members. “It was an amazing learning experience,” Merczynski says.
“Now that I’m part of Carina’s network, I’m confident she’ll think of me again when opportunities arise. And I know I can turn to her if I ever have questions.”
Then in November, Merczynski made several new connections while attending “The Business of Talent: Casting and Representation” talk organized by WashU’s entertainment network. Armed with her résumé and a stack of homemade business cards, she spoke one-on-one with Kulkarni and the chapter’s incoming chair, Erica Tuchman, AB ’02, a talent manager.
During her presentation at the event, Tuchman relayed a story about a pivotal mentor who changed the arc of her career. Her anecdote resonated with Merczynski. “It only takes one person to take you under her wing and help you find your place,” she says. And with any luck, that person might just be a WashU alum.
