Ellen Santa Maria ’12
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can’t help thinking sometimes that people go to college for the wrong reasons. Whether it’s to find your future spouse, to continue playing a sport, or even just to avoid the “real world,” I’ve talked to enough students my age to know that college isn’t always about academics. But Andy Waplinger, a senior from Dallastown, Pa., has the right idea. He takes his academics seriously, and his professional experiences too. Where has his hard work gotten him? Hollywood. No joke.
, GER PLIN WA ENIOR Y AND IATA S JUN
MIC H DIRE AEL TRIM C PHO TOR OF ‘76, T AND OGRAP EMM HY Y WIN NER
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By: Ellen Santa Maria ’12
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Enter Andy Waplinger, a self-proclaimed photographer and cinematographer. Enter R G IN E WAPL AN DY Nathan Wagoner, Andy’s digital media professor. Wagoner has an old buddy, Mike 2 Trim ’76, 4 who happens to operate a camera on the set of Weeds. Trim was coming to campus to lecture about show business, and Wagoner let Andy know all about it. ALL IN
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Back at Juniata, Andy’s been keeping busy in P his last year,” Wagoner has made sure of that. A W AN DY Not only this, but one of Wagoner’s professors 2from his time at Juniata will be coming to guest4 lecture. He’s Bruce Davis ’65, former Executive Director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. No big deal. Andy’s looking forward to meeting him. Maybe he’ll need a ride to the airport too.
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After graduation, Andy plans to move right R INGE WAPL AN DY back out to L.A. and get his post-college professional career started as a camera 2 operator. Within 10 years, Andy aims to be a 4 director of photography. “The location, the work, and the people are absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to be back ONS CTI NNE there, doing what I love.” E CO H T IN ER And, cut. Looks like we ALL LING WAP Y D have a wrap. AN
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R Sure enough, come Summer 2011, Trim has an internship lined up for Andy. And who wouldn’t take that opportunity on 2 the spot? 4 So he hopped on a plane and made for the Promised Land: Hollywood. Andy had found himself as an intern on the set of Weeds, working behind the camera. “I became good friends with the camera guys, Adam Tsang and George Montejano, who were actually interns on Weeds in the two years before me,” he said. THE ALL IN
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The plot takes a twist when, after the lecture, Trim’s flight back out to L.A. 2gets switched from State College to 4 Harrisburg. Andy took the opportunity to give Trim a ride. “We got to chat about his past career. When we arrived at Harrisburg, he told me that he’d look for an internship for me out in LA.” AN DY
Soon enough, Andy finds himself fixing R Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker’s laptop. He even exchanged hellos with Community actors Donald Glover and Gillian Jacobs. Not 4bad for2 a summer internship, right?
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