Marcia Rock

It is hard to believe it is 50 years since I graduated from Shaker. I remember walking to school through the rustling of leaves and crunching of snow. I remember the three hour finals and excitement of working on Macbeth my senior year. I also remember wanting to leave the suburbs for New York City. Although I treasure my time in Cleveland, particularly the integrated experience of Ludlow elementary school, I was made for the City.

Unexpectedly, I connected with a Shaker classmate. I never knew Patty Stotter well during high school, but recognized her at a party for the documentary Unchained Memories for which she composed the score. I approached her and we started to reminisce a bit and something clicked. Since then we have not only become friends, but creative partners, co-producing a documentary on women veterans and a short about women veterans. Our shared experience at Shaker gave us a wonderful foundation for our collaboration and plenty of laughter. So you never know what a connection will generate and produce. And to top it off, Patty and I were invited to the Shaker Hall of Fame this year as a pair! We're delighted. Great way to celebrate 50 years.

And just one more note about a Shaker connection: one of the seminal moments in my career was working with Shaker graduate, Marlene Sanders on our book, Waiting for Primetime: The Women of Television News. A pioneer for women in broadcast journalism, she was the first woman to anchor a newscast and the first woman vice president at a network. She was an inspiration to me and many other women. She advocated all her life for diversity in the newsroom and for the rights of women. She treasured her education at Shaker, particularly because her parents couldn’t afford to send her to college for more than a year. I made a short video about her for her memorial: https://vimeo.com/137989511

As for me, I’ve led a dual career as NYU journalism professor and documentary filmmaker. My documentaries cover international dilemmas, women’s issues as well as personal perspectives. I recently completed three films on veteran issues, two with Patricia Lee Stotter. Soldiers Period is a humorous short debunking myths about PMS. Take a look:https://vimeo.com/177832931. SERVICE: When Women Come Marching Home about women transitioning from active duty to civilian life that won a NY Emmy. servicethefilm.com. Warriors Return focuses on Navajo veterans. From the plight of salt harvesters in Ghana to the changing role of women in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, I’ve covered Irish American and Northern Irish history producing Daughters of the Troubles: Belfast Stories (1997) that won many awards. McSorley’s New York, tells the story of the NY Irish through the patrons of the bar and won a NY Emmy.

I decided to stretch myself in a new direction at age 50 and produced the personal documentary, Dancing with My Father, that explores how adult love is shaped by what a child learns at home. It also includes an in-depth history of the Jews of Cleveland. Surrender Tango is a documentary on how tango can be a metaphor for relationships. Early work includes, Village Writers: the Bohemian Legacy (1990), Reynolds Price: a Writer's Inheritance (1989). My first major documentary was also connected to Cleveland. I followed the Singing Angels to China in 1982 and won a Cleveland Emmy for, The Singing Angels in China (1983).

Teaching has always been a constant in my professional life and a source of inspiration. I am now the Director of News and Documentary at the NYU Carter Journalism Institute.