Rachel Mayoral: Love of Storytelling
Rachel Mayoral’s journey to Colorado Mountain College could have been lifted from the page of a movie script.
“When I got here the campus was just breathtakingly beautiful,” Mayoral says. “It just seemed like a really great fit. I just had this feeling that this is where I’m supposed to be.”
During her visit, the Texas native had originally set her sights on majoring in business and minoring in photography, but a serendipitous nudge from Admissions Counselor Vicky Valentine moved Mayoral to switch the two. It proved to be the right decision.
Her new direction was fueled by a love of storytelling and the collaboration that comes with filmmaking. With the help of faculty and staff at the Isaacson School for New Media at Colorado Mountain College, she jumped in and worked in as many different aspects of the industry as possible. She spent a summer in the northeast working for Maine Media Workshops and volunteered with Aspen Film, which lead her to be one of their pre-screeners for Shorts Fest.
“There is something special that happens when working with a team and the process of watching a story develop that has a piece of the whole team in it,” says Mayoral. “I learn from every project I am a part of and I am always looking for new experiences that will push me.”
Throughout her time here, Mayoral has collaborated with several artists on different projects ranging from documentary work to fictional storytelling.
“I think if you come here and you are willing to work hard the professors pick up on that,” she says. “They go out of their way to make sure they are giving you every possible opportunity to be successful and that is not always easy to find.”
Reflecting on the college’s 50th Anniversary, Mayoral remarked that the college is still very young in its history. Her hope for the future is that CMC continues to grow and the focus remains on moving its students forward with the help of the community.
“I think life is all about relationships,” says Mayoral. “It’s kind of meaningless without them. They keep us going both professionally and personally.”
Mayoral will graduate in May 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science. She then plans to move to Los Angeles or New York to become a production assistant, and pursue her ultimate goal of becoming a producer.
View some of Mayoral’s work: Big Air Max and Roaring Fork Valley- Cultivating Community.