Once again, the Cheshire High Drama department and the "theater kids" outdid themselves with the spring musical. This year's production of The Addams Family was simply perfection. This was a fun promotional poster to produce, with some extra post production work to add the makeup for the kids who came in without it.

Margi DeMatteo for The Alumni Project (Studio Alumni Edition)

Margi is a former associate from my Watch Factory Shops studio back in '04-'05. She is a photographer and graduate of Hallmark School of Photography in MA. We met when she was working as a studio photographer at Printko, a local lab I used to use for 35mm film processing. She came to work with me as an assistant for location shoots and post production, and helped out with my son Spencer who was with me at the studio for the first six months after his birth. One of the wildest experiences Margi and I have had together happened while she was still working for Printko. She also works as a model, and asked to do a night shoot in New Haven with me. On March 20th, 2003 we were shooting around the sculptures in the plaza of the Federal Building when a number of police came over and asked a bunch of questions, checked our IDs and then told us the United States had just begun the war in Iraq and the Federal Building was going into a lockdown.

I photographed her wedding with a few of her photographer friends which was a total blast. Margi later went on with her photography and also became an Executive with a cosmetics company as well. We reunited earlier this year when she invited me to shoot her 40th birthday party - denim attire only. We hadn't seen each other in seventeen years, but it's like there was never a gap in time. She has a healthy love of all things denim and still has that modeling fire. We recently shot a denim editorial together while I was at her place helping set up her new photography home studio. I'm proud of the professional businesswoman she has become and still in awe of her boundless energy and free spirit. She gave me some background of her life before we met and worked together, and her journey to where she is now. Buckle your seatbelts.

"After Hallmark I chased a boyfriend I met at school and moved into his hometown way upstate in Massena, NY (basically Canada), where the two of us both shot for Lifetouch.  Yeah, school portraits in a remote area.  Probably the worst job of my life and every week there was a breakout of lice and the children weren’t allowed to have combs. I’ll never forget that. It didn’t work out with the boyfriend so I moved back home. I landed a gig at Printko in the portrait studio.  That's where I met you and Italo Centore.  Italo got me into shooting bands. I left Printko, worked with you at your studio and married the drummer in the band Green Inside. You know because you shot the wedding lol (Epic)

I switched gears in 2007 and found my passion and interest started in cosmetics. My epiphany was on set assisting photographer Kvon Beypour in Florida for Burt’s Bees.  I was intrigued by the makeup artist looking so bad ass with her belt in the jungle, touching up a lip and powdering a forehead. I thought to myself, "I want to fucking do that", as I stood there sweating to death with a giant reflector in my hand which wasn’t so glamorous.

So I did it. I went to Brio in Hamden for makeup school. I then called my friend D’Amico from Hallmark who was running Milk Studios in NYC and he set me up with celebrity makeup artist Scott Barnes and I assisted him for a few years.

A photographer for Mehron Cosmetics took me to a make-up show and then Fashion week as and assistant. I also volunteered to model for the Mehron show. I knew I wanted to work for the company and was hired by the Marketing/Creative Director Stephanie Koutikos as trade show manager and photographer. Always looking for opportunity, I found gig freelancing for another company on craigslist. I interviewed and was hired on the spot.

I climbed the ladder from freelancer and ended up leaving Mehron for full time opportunity with another company.  I went from freelancer to specialist, Junior Account to Field Executive now ten plus years later.

Now I do the makeup and shoot together on set and in my free time I love to do my own makeup styling and model.  One day I will start a pet photography business.  I have four dogs and a sick passion for all things denim."  

Kelsea had helped out at the studio a couple weeks prior to her session by modeling for my stylist friend, Alexis from the salon. It took all of a minute to realize we were in for a treat working with her. I had a pretty good idea that her senior session would be just as special. I spent a typical New England summer day with Kelsea and her family at her grandparents home on Cape Cod. What an absolute joy. I can talk with her grandparents for days about the history of the area. If anyone were to ask if I could describe love in photographs, I will show them the portraits from Kelsea's senior session with her family.

Kelsea is a co-captain of the tennis team and was All State First Team 2018. She heads up the Seniors For Seniors organization at the high school and is a spokesmodel for Dynamite Designs. Post grad, she will be pursuing a career in Communications and Graphic Design. 

When I photograph seniors, I always open the session with a question, "What's your master plan?" Very few actually have an answer, which is totally fine, and I direct them to the Meyers-Briggs test  on the website 16personalities.com. It will give them a freakishly accurate  assessment of what they should pursue based on who they are and the career/occupation they would then be the most successful in. Everyone has their own path in life and unfortunately our kids are often pressured to conform to some imaginary societal timeline of perceived success and make enormous financial decisions about college and careers when they have no idea of the scope of that impending burden at seventeen years old. Part of my inspiration for and goal of The Alumni Project is to prove to everyone that no matter what your path post-graduation is, your path is actually the same as so many others. You are never alone or the only one following that direction. We just don't often talk about.

I'm so happy I had the opportunity to work with Paige Pikulski for my 'The Alumni Project'. Paige is a CHS Class of 2011 alumni and scholar athlete having played soccer and lacrosse in school. She was one of my last seniors I photographed at my old Watch Factory studio. I remembered she had gone to UConn after graduation but wasn't sure I remembered what she planned to major in. She has quite a life story since graduation, which to her and others who follow a similar path, always brings feelings of doubt about the direction of their lives. I always say, you realize that only 63% of college students go on to graduate within six years (for a four year degree) and of those 43% never work in the field they majored in, you won't have negative feelings about making life changes and taking a little longer to discover "what you are meant to do". 

Paige was a Psych major, inspired by Mr. Rood's class and his stories of the profession. Though now on a slightly different trajectory, she dropped some Clinical Psych wisdom on me about my own life, with three words, that no one has ever expressed or pointed out and that I certainly have never thought about. I'm blown away. At my age looking back and revisiting memories of what my own life has been. Wow. She's good.

Did you know before graduating Cheshire High what you wanted to do career wise?

I thought I did. I had my sights set on becoming a clinical psychologist in high school. That was still the plan all throughout college and several years after until I realized my heart wasn’t in it anymore.

What did you end up doing post grad - College, Trade, Military?

After graduating from CHS, I went to UConn and received my BA in psychology. In my sophomore year, I studied abroad in Wollongong, Australia and visited Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef, and New Zealand. In my senior year, I began volunteering as a student research assistant in a Child and Adolescent Mood Program at UConn Health and I was offered a paid position upon graduation. After that, I worked as a clinical research assistant for that lab in West Hartford for several years on multiple studies in the lab. I was able to produce a first-author publication, present a poster at a conference, and collaborated with colleagues on other manuscripts. However, my favorite part of my job was working directly with participants. I would conduct diagnostic interviews and became comfortable discussing some difficult topics such as anxiety, depression, and Intimate Partner Violence.

Where are you now and how did you end up here?

After an existential crisis which resulted in a change in my trajectory (see below), I completed my EMT training in New Britain and was accepted into the Pre-Medical and Health Professions Post-Baccalaureate Program at UConn. Upon completion of the program, I became an EMT for Trinity Health of New England and have worked in Waterbury and Cheshire (let me tell you… COVID PPE + New England summer weather + staircases in Waterbury = not a good time).

I moved back home after finishing my post-bacc to save for PA school. I start my PA program at the end of May, and I feel so fortunate to be in a situation that allows me to mitigate the financial burden of school. Plus, if being an EMT has shown me anything, it’s that the time spent with loved ones is SO important. To end up here, I had to confront a lot of fears and change my way of thinking. Once I decided on changing career paths to pursue PA school, I took the required courses, gained direct patient care experience, shadowed a PA in the cardiovascular unit at Saint Mary’s (got to watch two open heart surgeries!!!!), and submitted my application to a few PA schools. It all paid off because I received several offers. When I first made the decision to change my career path, I had my sights set on Quinnipiac – so getting into my top choice has made my sacrifices feel worth it even more. 

Where are you working now?

I’ve been an EMT in Waterbury and Cheshire. I make sure my ambulance is in good shape, I shake my head at all the cars who don’t pull over and stop when I’m driving with sirens, I get to help someone during what may be the worst day of their life, I try to educate and advocate for patients, I get to connect with some incredible people, I see first-hand the flaws in our medical system... and I think I’ve only cried on one shift?

How has the journey to where you are now been? We all have stories of trials and tribulations that we learn from.

Making the decision to veer off the course you mapped out for yourself is terrifying. I had to confront internalized feelings of being a failure for not wanting to continue down the PhD path. I worried that my degree and my years in research were a waste. I also felt this internal and societal pressure of a made-up timeline saying when I should be hitting every milestone in my life. But with the help of an amazing mentor, I deconstructed those thoughts, began trusting myself, and went out to find that spark I had been missing. 

I found myself gravitating towards healthcare, specifically PA, but still had some doubts. First, I worried I would be squeamish… so I enrolled in EMT training and found that I LOVE the “gross” medical stuff. My next hurdle was taking a lot of pre-requisite courses since I hadn’t taken them during my undergrad. To do that, I applied and was accepted into the pre-medical post-bacc at UConn. I had always been a good student, but I wanted to be better. Now, I was stepping back onto the UConn Campus as the student I always wanted to be. I completed my post-bacc with a 4.0 GPA and realized I love being a student. 

Since completing my post-bacc, I have been working as an EMT and am now taking some time off to spend the last few days before school relaxing, skating, and spending time with my boyfriend and friends (he starts PA school in June). This time when everything went according to the plan, it finally felt right. And now, I see my unconventional journey as a strength; my psych background is helping me become the type of provider I want to be for my patients. I think things are finally falling into place because I’m not forcing any timeline and I’ve found something I really love to do. 

Where and what would you like to be doing / accomplish in your future?

I want to be a Physician Assistant. I’m not exactly sure what I want to be doing in the field yet, but that is part of the reason why I felt PA was the best fit for me. It’s a generalist training so I can go where life takes me. As of right now, I could see myself going into emergency medicine for a little bit (that burnout is a real thing though) and/or women’s health (especially with the social climate right now). However, I’ll be going into school and clinicals with an open mind and am excited to see where I’ll find myself. No matter what, I want to have a positive influence on people’s lives and find fulfillment both in and outside 

What do you do or where do you go in your free time? 

My free time is spent roller skating on tennis/basketball courts or the Farmington Trail. I also squeeze in going to the gym and spending time with the people I care about. I’m a fan of breweries and wineries. I’ve always been an animal lover so my free time at home is spent with my animals and throughout the year, I take on foster assignments when it fits with my work schedule. My happy place has become anywhere I can skate. Whether it’s down the Farmington Canal Trail or one of the tennis/basketball courts around town, being able to put on my skates and listen to music can completely change a shitty day into a good one.  

Also, since CHS, I have been to several music festivals (Bonnaroo is always #1), became a pescatarian (going on 10 years now!), driven cross-country to help a friend move to San Fran, dabbled in rock climbing and ukulele, fostered over 20 animals.

Paige starts PA school at QU tomorrow. We all know she's going to crush it and her patients are going to be the beneficiaries of her experiences and decision to follow her own path on her own timeline. 

The Pivot.

Emma left Cheshire High and headed straight to the city, studying Theater/Acting at CAP21 "while it was still legit". She performed around the city and landed the lead in "Rosie Revere - Engineer" traveling show. She traveled around the country with the show which was written as an inspirational play to encourage kids, especially young girls, to pursue careers in STEM.

She took me for a spin around her neighborhood and favorite spots nearby and I learned after all these years that getting around NYC on a CitiBike is the only way to go. So much fun. The fun continued as I stopped to grab some water at a coffee shop and the place sold beer. We decided we needed a good prop for some pics while walking around and Emma chose the 40oz Miller Light and I chose the brown bag to drink it from. Our conversations as we wandered the Meat Packing District sipping a 40 were hysterical as well as fascinating.

When the pandemic hit, like most of us, she had to make a made a pivot. Hers was to Studio & Operations Coordinator at LIV Method in midtown, a high end personal training gym. She took the move further, becoming a certified personal trainer with the company, and is an in demand trainer for active Manhattanites. Good thing because her apartment is a fourth floor walk-up! By the time I got to the top of the stairs with my gear, I was considering dialing 911. She lives in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood which I had never really explored in all the years I've been visiting the city for work or play. They've got some killer pubs which we checked out later in the day.

We went back to her place to change and then she took me to her "office". LIV Method in Midtown, just across TimesSquare from the Kitchen. This place is legit. If you can't get or stay in shape here with Emma training you, there is no hope for you. Sorry. It was after an intense workout that Emma also schooled me that not only is cannabis legal but that pizza is the perfect snack.

The theater industry is making a comeback so Em keeps her green screen handy for demo reels with faith that she will be performing again soon. I'll be back for another visit soon and I'll hang that green screen with a spare roller. 

A tuff, buff, high energy, free spirited actress and personal trainer making shit happen on her own terms. LOVE this woman.