Meet Emily Betz. Betz is a self-employed costume designer and creator, as well as a self-employed seamstress, and self-employed party entertainer at Princess on Demand Entertainment, a business she founded and runs. Betz knew from a young age that she was meant to be an artist. She had the skill set and passion to pursue the arts, but didn’t realize for a long time that costume design was the specific path she was destined to follow. During high school, she used every opportunity gain experience, practice and hone her craft. 

Once it was time to choose a college, she knew she wanted to go somewhere that had a great theatre program and a place where she could continue to learn and thrive. Schoolcraft became her No. 1 choice. Not only did she know that she could expand her knowledge, she would be able to ease herself into this new stage of life, save money, take general education credits, and make friends with the same interests along the way. 

Fast-forward to her first semester at Schoolcraft where all of her hopes and dreams of a theatre program came true. Paul Beer, the head of the theatre department and her theatre instructor, had consistently made the classes intriguing and was very receptive to inputs regarding theatre productions from the students. Betz states that he was “one of the top reasons (she and her) friends enjoyed their theatre education so much at Schoolcraft.”

Thanks to the welcoming spirit of the theatre department, Betz quickly became involved with the Schoolcraft play productions, making connections and expanding her knowledge. As a result of these connections, she was introduced into the local, professional and paid theatre community in Southeast Michigan, something Betz has always dreamed of - at the age of 20! 

Betz’s favorite thing about Schoolcraft, aside from the theatre department, is the availability of resources. Whether it was needing assistance to take a test in a quiet space, venting to a student advisor or looking for tutoring help, those resources and more were available. She is not only happy that she chose to begin her educational career at Schoolcraft, she is proud and thankful. 

Her next steps after finishing her Michigan Transfer Agreement general education courses is to transfer to a university to complete a Theatre Design program. With all of the experience gained at Schoolcraft these past two years, she is chock-full of scholarship-worthy possibilities. 

Betz’s advice to prospective students is “do not think that you have to choose a career or even a four-year university at age 17. Use your time at Schoolcraft to explore all of the various course options and discover the career path that is meant for you. P.S.: students get free admission to the Schoolcraft College Fitness Center!”