Students pursue dreams off campus

After his sophomore year, Matthew Cooper '05 traded his room in Holder Hall for a small two-bedroom house with gated walls and no running water in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

It was a dramatic but logical move for Cooper, who took a year off from classes to volunteer at El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza (The Home of Love and Hope), an orphanage center.

"I wanted to pursue my passions outside of academics and rowing," said Cooper, a Wilson School major and member of the crew team.

"I really wanted to travel, become fluent in Spanish and work with kids — there were many things that I wanted to do, but couldn't really satisfy at Princeton," he explained.

Each year, a handful of students like Cooper put Princeton on hold to pursue independent projects domestically and abroad.

Whether it's the lure of Broadway stage lights or the chance to work for a high-end couture company in Paris, students are rejecting the standard study abroad offerings for self-tailored programs.

It takes a village

Tegucigalpa — the capital of Honduras — was a long way from Princeton and home for Cooper, a Canadian native. The immediate immersion into Latin American culture challenged Cooper to become fluent in Spanish and adapt to a new environment without anyone he knew.

Spanish courses at Princeton helped Cooper master the language, but he had to rely on himself and the center's staff to adjust to the difficulties of living in a developing country.

A guard, metal doors and gated windows protected the staff inside the compound but past the gates, the staff faced a dangerous neighborhood riddled with gang warfare.

"It never entered the center but there was always the threat of armed robbery outside the walls, it was a very vulnerable community," Cooper said.

The adjacent streets were especially dangerous for Cooper — since his light skin tone distinguished him from the rest of the population and identified him as a foreigner. He heeded the advice of the veteran staff members (all who were recent victims of robbery): always traveling with at least one or two Honduran staff members — even if he only needed to travel down the block — and returning to the compound before dawn, wearing plain clothes and keeping a low profile.

Even though the threat of assault kept him on constant watch, according to Cooper, the greatest challenge lied inside the compound's walls.

Through his interactions with the orphans during the six-month period, Cooper developed strong relationships with the boys and staff members. As he grew closer to the children at the shelter, many of whom lacked any immediate or extended family structure to rely on, he realized how important their work was to the children's lives.

"In life you usually have a segregation of roles: a brother, role model, friend or teacher, but in this community [the staff members] are everything to these kids," he said.

On rare occasions, Cooper had the opportunity to interact with orphans on a more personal, one-on-one level. It was these moments, a few minutes during a picnic or a hike through the forest, which turned into the most eye opening experiences for Cooper.

During one particular trip to the movies, Cooper took care of an eight-year-old child named Jose on a bus ride through Tegucigalpa.

"After we talked for awhile, I remember he fell asleep at one point, in the middle of this crowded bus, and then all of a sudden it all felt manageable," Cooper said.

"The center does great work, but during those kind of moments you realize that you can't be there all the time — that you could never provide everything and be the ideal parent," he added.

Cooper left the center in June but didn't take the first flight back into North America. Instead, he opted for a long trek back north, mainly by bus, to "progressively" ease his way into the United States.

With a book bag, passport and a collection of photos that chronicled his experience, he took a bus through Guatemala, Mexico City, Tijuana, crossed the border on foot and finally took a train into San Diego where family friends waited for him.

From the plush seats on the train ride to San Diego's residential streets, Cooper vividly recalls the surreal quality of the last leg of his journey.

"I remember coming into the house, where they took me to a big room in a gorgeous house and [a family friend] told me, 'Here's your room.' And I just sat on the bed and I felt so thankful and comfortable, I started crying, just sitting on this bed," Cooper said. "I'd forgotten how comfortable America was, how safe I was."

Now that he's back on campus, Cooper misses the relationships he forged in Honduras. And despite his distance from the experience, he still appreciates the broadened perspective Tegucigalpa left him with.

"I really began to feel that I was really part of [the Honduran] community," Cooper said. "But the weird part of it is, I wasn't exactly, because at any point I could easily take out my passport and be back home. People there don't have that option — the one way ticket out."

High fashion

While many Princeton students flock to Europe to study at the College of London or the University of Oxford, Anna Bull-Diamond '05 left campus after her sophomore year for the Mecca of fashion: Paris.

Bull-Diamond, a native of Germany and former resident of France, secured a yearlong internship at Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), a premiere luxury label famous for its haute couture and iconic styles.

Even with the romantic promise of Paris, the allure of the fashion world and the scenic view of the Seine River from her apartment window, she was still worried about making the transition from Princeton to Paris.

"It was a culture shock," she said. "It was the complete opposite of studying in an academic institution and I needed to be fluent in French very, very quickly."

Bull-Diamond, who did not have any prior work experience, enrolled in a unique, twelvemonth internship that gave her the opportunity to work in various parts of the company.

Most interns in Europe's fashion industry, according to Bull-Diamond, usually study a specific field and sign up for one department. Since she came from a broad, liberal arts background, she was able to work for the creative, marketing, public relations and management departments.

On her first day in the sales department, she worked for the accessories section of YSL's flagship Paris store. Since a high volume of local customers came through the store's doors, the experience immediately turned into a French-language crash course for Bull-Diamond.

"My French was pretty good but I wasn't confident enough with it, especially since I was selling handbags to French ladies," she said. "I had to learn really quickly."

She thrived on the sales floor by gravitating toward American tourists. She even met two alumni who "bought like crazy" when they found out she shared their Princeton bond.

When Bull-Diamond moved to the creative department, she worked under Tom Ford, one of the most influential contemporary designers, at the end of his career at YSL.

"Working with Tom Ford was always eventful because he's a real character," Diamond said.

Ford controlled a huge design team and came in once a week to look at all the new designs and figure out what worked and what didn't. His word was final, she said.

Bull-Diamond remembered how Ford came in once and scrapped 90 percent of the designs less than two weeks before a show. The department worked at a frantic pace to recreate designs for the event. The show came together on time but not before a few late nights at YSL's office.

She also helped put together fashion shows and in-store trunk shows.

"Shows are complete stress," she said. "The models are only on the catwalk for about 10 to 15 minutes, but getting everything right involves so much work."

From organizing the clothes and makeup and managing the seat arrangements, Bull-Diamond handled many of the details that go into a fashion show and occasionally dealt with the unexpected.

During one trunk show, a model's sheer dress ripped on the runway and exposed to roomful of VIPs and clients that she was not wearing any underwear. Bull-Diamond covered up the mortified model — rushing her behind the changing screens to put her in a different outfit — and the show proceeded without missing a turn.

Even though unexpected events and long hours at YSL proved stressful, Bull-Diamond found time during the weekends to attend sculpture classes and trips to the museum.

In addition, she had the opportunity to peruse through the basement of YSL — which stored all of the brand's vintage collections — a heaven for an art history major.

Another great perk, she said, was the employee discount. YSL held a sample sale each month for employees, offering pieces from old and new collections at 10 percent of the price.

Now that Bull-Diamond is back on campus, she thinks fondly of her Paris apartment and the fashion scene.

"I miss the whole fashion world, the parties, the shows," she said. "It does get a little bit annoying for some of its superficial elements, but it's also quite fun — life in Paris is a good life."

While she may not move permanently to Paris, Bull-Diamond does want to pursue work in the fashion industry, whether at a publication or behind the runway. Her experience at YSL has fine-tuned her eventual career goals, but has also helped her realize she needed to approach academics differently.

"Before, I picked classes that seemed good on my resume, but now I'm a lot more relaxed and choose classes that I find interesting," Diamond said. "It's about finding what you're good at, what you enjoy and doing that regardless."

Center stage

During her freshman year, Laura Breckenridge '07 immediately "fell in love" with the University and campus life. But when she snagged a lead role in "The Moonlight Room" — an off-Broadway play at the Tribeca Playhouse last summer — she temporarily paused life at Princeton for a change of scene to New York City.

The stage is a familiar place for Breckenridge, a veteran both onand off-Broadway, at Princeton and on film.

On campus, she recently starred in "Psychosis 4.48," Joe Cermatori's '05 theater senior thesis project. Her credits off campus include a role in "The Crucible," a Broadway show that featured actor Liam Neison, Radio City's Christmas Spectacular, The Nutcracker, a number of independent films and other productions.

Because acting is the main priority in Breckenridge's life, the decision to leave campus early last September was fairly easy. But taking a semester off also meant dropping a year back, being part of an unfamiliar class and stepping away from a sheltered campus environment for an apartment in the middle of Manhattan.

"I knew I was going to miss my friends but at the same time it was very exciting," she said. "Working in the city gave me a glimpse into what my future might be like."

In "The Moonlight Room," a five-character play directed by Tristan Skyler '93, Breckenridge played a Sal, a sixteen-year-old, troubled girl.

While the show was running, Breckenridge faced a challenging weekly grind — eight shows per week and rehearsals whenever there was no show. Because she only had Tuesday off, Breckenridge did not have many opportunities to visit her home in Philadelphia or campus.

But since she couldn't leave New York to visit, her friends and family came to her instead.

Thirty friends from the University boarded a bus and went to see Breckenridge on stage. Her parents also showed their support for her by attending about one show per week.

On stage, Breckenridge had to adapt to the unpredictable nature of live acting. When a man in the audience passed out during a performance, Breckenridge and the other actors stopped the show to administer first aid. Audience members and actors worked together to help revive the man, when he recovered, the actors returned to the stage and the show went on. The potential tragedy turned into surprisingly memorable moment for Breckenridge.

"In acting, there's a boundary set up between the audience and the actors, and you're worried that if that barrier breaks down then the whole illusion does too," Breckenridge said. "But when that fourth wall collapsed, it brought something nice to the show and kind of united everyone."

Besides "The Moonlight Room," Breckenridge also completed four other projects in the last year, including a small role as a runaway in "Havoc," an independent film shot in California.

Last summer she picked up a major role in the off-Broadway play "Spin Movies" with Anne Hathaway. The 5 foot 2 inch Breckenridge had to learn how to play basketball for her role as a Bosnian Muslim refugee who plays the sport.

She also recently wrapped up her first lead role in a movie — the independent film called "Southern Belles" also starring Anna Ferris. Breckenridge plays a North Carolina Southern belle who wants to move to the city, but gets sidetracked when a love interest enters the picture.

Besides advancing her career in the performance arts, Breckenridge's experience in "The Moonlight Room" also gave her a better perspective offstage. After spending so much time away from campus, Breckenridge, a Classics major, realized she actually missed certain elements of a formal classroom education.

"I got a chance to read a lot of books," she said. "But after you read a great book, there's no one to discuss it with and you're like, 'Where's my lecture?"

Stepping away from campus also reaffirmed her interest in theater and motivated her to take on classes that are more interesting.

"I recommend taking a year off, if you're ready, have a clear idea of what you want to do," Breckenridge said. "And if you have the desire to do it, then it's definitely worth it."