Paula Achter & Melodee

Student

“The week I finished my film on Sumerian fertility myths, I tested positive for pregnancy. I guess you really do reap what you sow.”

“I’m a new mother, a first-time mother and a single mother—all late in life,” reports Paula Achter on all of the new demands being placed on her. “The mothering business takes a lot of hours, so I’m returning to school here to buy myself some time, get my feet on the ground after having a baby, and hone my personal business skills. I’m trying to become fully operational again,” she continues. “And a part of me wants to go tearing off, right back to work. But another part is telling me to use this time to mellow like a good wine and redirect my energies.”

Paula is a successful filmmaker. “I’ve made promotional music videos in the past, but my personal films are really narratives that deal with women’s issues and women’s history.” Relying on sources from archeology and mythology, Paula’s films present “stories about our perceptions of women’s roles throughout history.” In preparing a seminar based on her Sumerian film, she’s discovered the need to reinvent herself at SMC.

“I’m refocusing a lot of skills to better promote what I do,” says Paula, with daughter Melodee Piper chortling in the background. “I’m taking graphic design classes to be able to make snazzier documents. And the free access to some very good computers is a real advantage. I’ve also taken a class on basic entrepreneuring in business that gave me excellent information. I need to launch back into the work,” she continues. “So I’m choosing courses of study that will help me accomplish this. And the SMC faculty has been very helpful and understanding of what I’m trying to do. Now,” she continues with a sigh, “if I can just find some other parents here who want to pool their babysitting duties…”

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