George P. Geanopulos, a Pascack Hills alumni, is now pursuing his dream of being the next Steven Spielberg.  From as far back as he can remember, George has been interested and pursuing his dream of being in the film industry. Now, he is finally in the industry.  But, let’s start with how he got there.

George, being a senior at hills only four years ago, remembers the real beginning of his film career, college application season. When asked about this inevitable time for all high school students, he had this to say, “I’ll say two things though, the first being, choose something that’s practical.  Also, you should have some sort of initial plan or focus to college applications.” So, what he is telling seniors that are applying to college is that you should not spend a fortune on a college degree that you don’t even want. Also, when applying for colleges, you should have some sort of planning and focus behind your college applications.

On a related note, most people assume that college involves many late nights filled with uninteresting work, but George said quite the opposite.  When asked about his four year experience at Emerson College, while studying film, he said, “I found it to be a very easy going, pleasant experience.  I think the kind of stress that I experienced wasn’t writing essays or studying for exams, as much as it was preparing for a film shoot or editing a mini movie project.  But, in light of all that, I really enjoyed it even at the most stressful moments because I said to myself that this is what I like and enjoy doing.” This is yet another piece of advice that George is trying to get across: if you choose what you truly want to do while in college, then it will be an enjoyable, pleasant experience, like his.  But, if you spend a fortune on going to college to do something that you don’t even enjoy, then your experience is going to be quite the opposite.

When asked if it is easy to get an industry job with just a diploma, he answered, “It took me about two months to get a job.  That, in all honesty, in the film industry, is pretty good. That isn’t even to sound like I’m bragging. Taking two months to get an industry job, that’s pretty good.  There are people in this industry that took them a year to get a job. To go back to your initial question, yeah it can be difficult, it doesn’t come overnight and it doesn’t come easy.  Definitely thinking that just because you have a diploma, that you’re going to get hired is not necessarily true. I noticed a lot of it comes from connections: the people you meet, how they like you.  This job that I just started, I was recommended to by someone from my internship.”

As shown, George says he was lucky because he got an industry job in only two months, but really it wasn’t luck.  He got a job in his industry so quickly because he went the extra mile past getting a diploma. He got internships. made connections, and did every extra class or job to get what he wanted.

He is only an assistant film editor, so this PHHS alumni has a long way to go in his film career.  But, he has begun his career and Pascack Hills has only the highest hope for him. As Steven Spielberg said, “You have many years ahead of you to create the dreams that we can’t even imagine dreaming.”