Senior Maggie Sandler matriculated to Cornell unsure about her major, however, she ultimately chose American Studies after realizing that many of the classes she enrolled in were cross listed with the major.
As a film enthusiast, she naturally gravitated towards AMST 3463: Contemporary Television taught by Professor Samantha Sheppard, which considers issues, approaches, and complexities in the contemporary television landscape.
“I already knew I loved taking classes with Professor Sheppard and then I always wanted to work in T.V.—that’s like my dream career—and that’s something that has always interested me, so to be able to take a class that’s about contemporary television is like my favorite subject basically,” Sandler said.
Sandler stated that AMST has sharpened her critical thinking skills, which has been particularly helpful when analyzing different films. In addition, many of the film classes she’s taken have overlapped with AMST, allowing her to continuously improve her skill set.
She has also been a part of Cornell’s DKA PHI Chapter, a cinematic society, which she had only found out about after taking various PMA classes. She was able to meet people with similar interests from this society who she ended up having many classes with.
This past summer, she transferred her learning on campus to Fox Alternative Entertainment as a creative development intern. Although she assisted in administrative responsibilities, she also played an integral role in meetings with the rest of the employees.
She was involved in the production of reality competition show The Masked Singer, which has already aired over a hundred episodes and has featured stars such as 2023 Senior Convocation speaker Ken Jeong. She also took part in a run through of the show Snake Oil, which airs on Fox on Sept. 27.
“I got to see all stages of what it takes to put on an unscripted T.V. show,” she emphasized.
Although her past summer internship was grounded in network television, Sandler hopes to gain more experience in T.V. production after graduating from Cornell.
While sharing her goals for the future, she also attributes her success to the classes and people she’s met through her past four years at Cornell.
“I’ve been so appreciative that every semester I’ve had classes that I loved taking and that get me excited to go to class,” she said. “I’ve developed great relationships with professors in classes that I never thought would necessarily interest me.”
Sandler recommends the AMST major to anyone with a “broad range of interests.” From directly related topics such as English and history to niche topics like media and T.V, she believes AMST presents a diverse load of courses both in breadth and depth.
