The Whitworthian

Issue date: 11/13/07 Last Updated: 11/17/07

Whitworth graduate Andrea Palpant Dilley had five part-time jobs post-Whitworth graduation before coming to North by Northwest Productions. With a B.A. in English Literature and Writing and a B.A. in Spanish, Dilley was interested in media and documentaries.

She was hired as a production assistant as well as someone who could do some writing. About a year after starting at North by Northwest, she was promoted to associated producer. From there she became a full producer after another year.

“My job is really diverse,” Dilley said. “In any given month, I’m doing anything from budgeting to working with clients to script writing to directing a shoot.”

For North by Northwest Productions, Dilley has a variety of tasks to accomplish. For any documentary, Dilley researches story content and works on budgets, location, crew and numerous other aspects of production. Dilley works on shoots directing crews, oversees interviews, edits footage for core conduct and makes sure everything meets the specifications for broadcast.

“It’s very dynamic work even if it’s not glamorous on a daily basis,” Dilley said.

As a producer, writer and director for the company, Dilley said Whitworth prepared her well for her job at North by Northwest. Whitworth gave her strong critical thinking skills, she said. The skills learned on a communication standpoint, both oral and written were fundamental, as well as a sense of ongoing learning, she said.

“The transition [into the workforce] was both exhilarating and intimidating,” Dilley said.

Being hired by a production company threw Dilley into a fast-paced world which was exciting, but the technology that she had to learn was daunting. While learning the technological aspect of her job, Dilley was reassured with the skills she gained from her English major.

“A strong liberal arts background, even in a high-tech job like production, [is vital] because critical thinking and communication skills are fundamental. Technology, on the other hand, is always changing and can be learned on the job,” Dilley said.

There will always be new technology to learn, so having a technology-oriented degree would not necessarily be helpful, Dilley said. English majors are regularly employable, she said. The ability to think both creatively and critically is vastly important.

“I would remind any Whitworth student to think creatively about their degree. Champion skills you already have and those you’ve learned in college,” Dilley said.

 Be ready to adapt, push the boundaries, explore and be open to different possibilities with any major, Dilley said.

 

Contact Felicity Brigham at felicity.brigham@whitworthian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

The Whitworthian encourages readers to comment on any content on the whitworthian.com. Article comments can be posted by anyone. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinion of The Whitworthian, its editors or its staff. The Whitworthian strives to monitor and delete comments with profanity, advertisements, obscenity, plagiarism, personal attacks, threats of violence or that violate the law or common decency. However, since The Whitworthian does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not find offensive or inaccurate comments on occasion.

For this reason, The Whitworthian asks readers to be responsible and respectful in any comments posted. The responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not the whitworthian.com. Readers are also encouraged to report questionable comments by e-mailing editor@whitworthian.com.