Hi, I am Jamie Neiberg. I learned to use my voice long before I had anything of my own to say. From a “Who”, a character that is yearning to be seen and heard in the musical Seussical, in fifth grade, to a chosen one as Judy Turner in “A Chorus Line” in high school, and as an islander, an immigrant, and many other characters in between, I spoke and sang the words of world class playwrights and lyricists on stages for thousands. And after six years as an actor for Kidz Theater, a pre-professional theater company, my love of performing fizzled out when productions moved to Zoom. I took my final bow as Liesl in Sound of Music, clicked “leave meeting” and changed out of my costume, knowing my own clothes were going to be enough for my next phase of self-expression. Through speaking the words of other people, I gained the confidence and poise to present myself unscripted.

Now, as an ex-theater kid, I can fearlessly raise my hand in class, advocate for myself and communicate my own messages on stages more personal than ones in a theater. As an admissions ambassador at my school, I am regularly called on to share my own everyday academic stories with underclassmen and prospective families. I speak from the heart on how grateful I am to have such close student-teacher relationships, and how eager I am to find mentors and friends in college professors. As a teen ambassador for the Jewish National Fund, I regale board members and major donors with stories of life on the campus they generously support in Israel, as well as the effectiveness of the teaching and curriculum in their High School in Israel program. But, the most truly fulfilling conversations I have led are in the Feminism Club where I facilitate bonding across a community of high school girls, raising people’s voices and experiences. And though I’ve realized that the stage may not be my world, the world is my stage. 

I am eager to take what I have learned and explore the ways stories are told in my senior project.  

For my senior project, I will be interning for Elland Road Partners to understand how the presentation of a message changes depending on the medium. Elland Road Partners is self-defined as a media/communications/marketing/editorial/branding/content/advertising consulting firm. With them, I will be mentored by a senior partner, sit in on meetings with clients, observe professionals, learn basic reporting skills, and learn to fact check. I will be required to meet standards expected of them by their clients.  I have already started my work for them! ERP was hired by Crain’s to whittle down nominees for their notables list and create blurbs for each person. I have been writing bios for nominees and next will learn how to fact check the information. One of the co-founders of Elland Road has also been director at Urban Pathways, a non-profit organization for the housing unstable, and to fulfill my service requirement, I will be doing pro bono work for Urban Pathways. My commitments at LREI have all wrapped up, and I have passed my x blocks down to the juniors, and am excited to participate in the New Yorker for New Yorkers senior seminar!