Émilie came to Millbrook reluctantly. In her on-campus interview she bluntly admitted, “This is a really great school and all, and I really like it. Thanks so much, but I’m not going to come here.”

Her interviewer found her honesty endearing, and her mother was determined that she would leave her public school in Ossining behind and become a Millbrook student. That fall Émilie arrived on campus as a IIIrd former, and over the next four years, she took advantage of everything Millbrook had to offer, particularly in the arts.

“I was my most creative self at Millbrook. I could do it all and merge it all—dance, photography, and video. There wasn’t some pre-conceived idea for this, but that is the beauty of Millbrook. If you can envision it, Millbrook will help you do it. That old saying is true: never again in your life will so many people be dedicated to your success.”

An NYU/Tisch summer film program Émilie attended in Dublin, Ireland, between her junior and senior years in high school would have a profound impact on her future. While focusing on directing and acting, Émilie made a best friend who would become a co-writer on a feature film and another best friend who would become her husband a decade later. Returning to Millbrook in the fall of 2002, she had a clear direction and a vision to become a filmmaker. Most importantly, she had confidence.

“Art is not a solo mission—it’s always about the community underneath it and the people that you bounce your ideas off of.”