Alumni Corner

ALUMNI

COR

In this section of the Chameleon, we focus on alumni and faculty who are Ninvolved in the creative arts to highlight that, not only are students doing wonderful writing and art, but so are professors across campus..

The Chameleon wants to highlight not only current Norwich University Estudent writers but also graduates to see how the creative arts have stayed with them since their time on campus. For this year’s look at alumni, Greyce Kelly Camargo Silva, one of our editors, interviewed Bailey Beltramo.

Beltramo graduated from Norwich in 2017 with a Communications degree. RSince then, he has become a published writer, photographer, and filmmaker who loves to tell stories.

Bailey Beltramo ’17

Greyce Kelly: What is the first memory that comes to mind when you think of your interaction with writing, photography or video?

Bailey Beltramo: When I was in third grade, I was part of a 4H group, and there was a photography competition. I had taken a photo of an animal on my neighbor’s farm. I had no knowledge of photography at the time and remember using Microsoft Paint to “edit” the photo by adding some sort of watercolor effect. I submitted it to the competition and surprised myself by getting an award. It wasn’t like winning that award triggered a passion for photography or anything. I didn’t really touch a camera again until I got to college. But that memory has definitely stuck with me.

GK: What about video?

BB: Video is more recent! My first prominent memory was of a video I made while living in California a year after graduating from Norwich. I went to the beach one morning to shoot sunrise photos and faced a thick marine layer instead. So, I just switched my camera over to video mode and started to shoot. I stayed up all night editing it together, hooked on this new process. I didn’t appreciate this at first, but, in many ways, video is the perfect combination of writing and photography. From journalism you learn how to understand a narrative and craft a story. You combine those elements with the camera and how to frame something. You blend in the written narrative and end up with video. Four years after making that first edit on the beach, video has become my preferred medium for passion projects.

GK: How would you say Norwich fostered your interest in arts?

BB: Norwich is not an arts school; it is not what it is intended to be. So, I can’t say Norwich itself fostered my interest in the arts, but key people at Norwich did, including Professors Prentiss, Luedtke, Nemethy, and Bush. They all helped develop this love for storytelling that has led me to where I am now.

GK: A lot of your work is nature oriented. Is there a reason for that?

BB: Outdoors is where I’m happiest and is a big reason I ended up at Norwich after trying to attend school in the city for one semester. Outdoor recreation was what I knew and loved, so it became easy to bring my camera and start photographing that kind of stuff. One of the hardest things with art is figuring out your voice. What are you going to create? What are you going to present yourself as to the world? I’ve learned that a good way to start answering those questions is by starting with what you know and love already. You can share those worlds and tell those stories with an insider’s perspective. Having a particular interest or knowledge base will help you gain access in ways that others can’t.

GK: Would you say that being able to take pictures, make videos, and write stories has helped you connect with people?

BB: Without a doubt. I have always considered myself a pretty quiet person – even shy. I used to give my mom grief for talking to strangers on the street or in the grocery store. Now, I’m fascinated by the unique experiences individuals have and the stories that exist all around us. It’s been a learned skill to start having conversations with strangers and learning about them. But when you start conversations with people, you get to know them, you might find that you have shared experiences that you would not have guessed. We have so much more in common than we have differences from one another. I have been trying to get that into my work, being able to connect with strangers and really listen to people’s stories.

GK: What advice would you give to anyone who plans to start a career in the arts?

Bailey Beltramo: First, pursue it for the process and not for the product – “product” being the defined image of success that you have. If you do it for the process, if you do it because you love your form of art, then the product becomes less important. Pursuing this kind of work is a winding path, and that success you envision might not come for a while. By loving the process, you can still be happy because you are just doing what you love.

Second, don’t compare yourself to your peers. This road is unpredictable, and, oftentimes, it takes unconventional means to pursue it. I’ve worked in five different states since I graduated. I was back to living with my parents for a while, and I’m breaking $20,000 a year for the first time since I got out of school. It’s easy to look at more conventional paths your peers may take and ask, What the heck am I doing? Don’t. Focus on you and what you love. Third, never stop being a student.

GK: To see some of Bailey’s videos, just scan the QR code below.