Nancy Riley-James
Nancy Riley-James’ (B.A. ’23) journey toward graduation was anything but straightforward. After taking a 20-year break from school and becoming a mother, she finally found herself at the end of a long and winding road. Despite the challenges she faced along the way, Riley-James made it to the finish line.
Interview by Jordan Ferguson
Tell me about yourself and your journey to Georgia State.
I am 44 years old and a mom. I started college in 1997, the first round at the University of Georgia as a journalism major, with the intent of going into broadcast journalism. I went for three years, took a break and went back, but didn’t finish. In my 20s I decided to get licensed to do makeup so that I could work on productions or in studios where you have to be licensed.
I did hair and makeup, mostly makeup, through my 30s. I always had in the back of my head that I wanted to go back to school and finish, but I had my daughter at 32 and life continues to happen. When everything shut down in 2020 and production was slow, that was the time that I decided, “Well, maybe this is a good time to go back to school.”
I started at Georgia State in the spring semester of 2021. Thankfully all my UGA credits transferred over from 20-something years ago. I got into the film and media program after finishing the two prerequisites.
How did you end up working on the feature film recently shot on campus, “Rejuvenation,” and what was your experience like?
I pushed the fact I had professional experience on set, which producer Tom Luse (B.A. ’74, M.S. ’81) (“The Walking Dead”) was impressed by and felt like could be an asset to the production. Even though I wanted to learn something new and be in a different department, because I already had the background in hair and makeup, that’s how they brought me on. It was fun because it was one of the first times that I felt like I could be a mentor to some of the younger students who were interested in maybe doing hair and makeup.
What’s your dream now that you have graduated?
I’d like to think of August as a reset month for me. While I walked in May, I had to finish three classes over the summer, including a Maymester class, and that was brutal. I’ve always loved documentaries and I wanted to work with productions that focus on conservation work. I love the documentary world, but I’m also a big fan of the creativity in live music and entertainment. I love, like, stage visuals for bands.
What does this degree mean to you?
It’s something I knew I wanted to accomplish. It means a lot that I did it at this age because being on set with “Rejuvenation,” I was with students who are 19 and 20, fresh out of high school and they’d ask, “What are you doing here? You already work in the industry.” I told them this was a chance for me to go back to school and finish this opportunity. I felt I could give my professional experience to that production.
This degree gives me a big sense of accomplishment as a mom, as someone who was a non-traditional student who went back after 20 years. This shows you can do anything on your own timeline in life. You don’t have to go straight out of high school to college. You can do it whenever it works for you.
How has Georgia State impacted your future?
I love the fact that it has very reputable artists-in-residence like Ludacris and Dallas Austin and of course, Tom Luse, whom I worked with. I think that’s cool. I don’t think that is something that is an experience I could have gotten, or people I could have worked with, when I went to college 20 years ago. Growing up, I didn’t have the kind of technology that a lot of the students that I worked with had. So, sometimes I felt a little behind. However, I felt like Georgia State’s programs and the technology that it has gave me the confidence to stay in this industry, or maybe even move on into something else.
