Margherita Schiller

Student

“Coming from Europe, the first time I saw the desert I thought, ‘Whoa! That’s got to be the best thing there is!’”

“My name is Italian and German,” says Margherita Schiller, traveler and staunch internationalist. “I grew up in Germany, moved to France and spent 8 years in promotion and coordinating advertising in Paris,” she says. Though her work allowed her to travel, she felt restless and dissatisfied. “My father suggested the idea of a new education,” says Margherita, a Tegner scholarship winner, who plans to transfer to USC. “And somewhere I found that I love the idea of documentary film making.”

Her travels have reinforced her ambition to use film to explain the human condition. “I was in Asia and spent several days with mountain tribes who are completely autonomous,” she says. “The governments all too often want these people to become integrated. But personally, I’m for preserving the spirituality and unique way of life of these indigenous people.”

Margherita has waitressed and gives private French lessons to support her investigations towards a new career while at SMC. “The American system is much nicer for people who want to return to school,” she says. “There are all ages.” And she has found willing teachers sensitive to her situation. “Hari Vishwanadha gave me some very special help,” she says. “I wasn’t confident with my English writing and he took his personal time to go through all that I did. That’s what makes a teacher.”

Margherita’s documentary career may one day take her far afield. But just now she’s discovering the delights of the West. “I plan to work on a ranch this summer to learn about cowboys and horses,” she says. “And when I have time these days, I’ll go surfing with my boogie board. It’s a real discovery of California.”

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