Alumni Board Scholar Profile: Q&A with 2016 scholar Jazzy Middleton

Members of the Boettcher Scholar Alumni Board are interviewing their fellow Boettcher Scholars to help the community get to know one another better. The following Q&A was compiled by Boettcher Scholar Gergana Kostadinova.

Scholar Year: 2016
Hometown: Aurora
College(s), Degree(s): University of Northern Colorado, Acting

What are you currently interested in pursuing after graduating?

I am currently pursuing a degree in acting! I’m hoping to act for a while after college but my long-term goal is to own my own theatre so that I may show how much art can positively impact any community. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time and I am working hard to make it a reality.

Tell us about what activities, groups, and/or organizations you have joined in college and why you joined them.

Being an acting major takes up quite a bit of time on its own… so most of the activities I’ve joined have stayed very close to the theatre. I have joined some wonderful student troupes that put on productions here and there, which has been a unique experience. I also was lucky enough to be cast in a main-stage production second semester, which is wonderfully wonderful but also wonderfully time-consuming. Even with the business of a college performing arts career, I have been attending a multitude of public events put on by various student groups. It is a great way to be involved even when you can’t join a club. I’ve also been going to youth group with Intervarsity which is a great way to meet people.

Tell us about an important mentor you have had.

One of my most important mentors was my high school theatre teacher Eric Eidson. Not only did he teach me so much about my craft and about the importance of pursuing my passions, but he also taught me so much about navigating life and staying positive. Unfortunately, his dorky sense of humor rubbed off on me too, but he’s a person whose qualities are contagious if you’re seeking success, so I’m not too upset about it. We’re still very close even though I’m out of high school, and he’s still proven to be a mentor to me. I cherish getting to have such a great adult in my life!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Something I always turn to when life is getting tough is something one of my incredibly wise friends told me in high school. She told me “always live life 15 minutes at a time”. It seems simple but it really changes your perspective on things! If you take life in 15 minutes it really takes the weight of the future off your shoulders, especially in an institutionalized education lifestyle where things feel like they’re hitting you all at once. Just breathe, worry about the next fifteen minutes, and write everything long-term in your planner. (Have a really nice pack of pens to do it with, too!) You’ll never be stressed again, which opens life up for all the beauty that it holds.

If you could have dinner with one person or a few people from history, whom would you choose and why?

If I could have a sit-down dinner with Bob Marley I would be the happiest girl who ever has existed. He is inspirational in his outside-of-the-box way of thinking and his positive philosophies. He’s not one of those creepy positive people who you can just tell are faking it though, he’s down-to-earth and super meta. I feel like we’d vibe well. We’re also both Aquarians and that kind of rocks too.