It’s always amazing to see how Sachem students find their way into a career they love, and often intersect with one another after leaving the friendly confines of the school district.
Jack Haggerty, Will Grimaldi and Chris DeMairo all graduated from Sachem East in 2011 and were classmates in Douglas Kelsch’s class in communication design. They weren’t all friends in high school, but eventually wound up on the same path and actually found themselves recently working on a film project in Morocco, of all places.
They were there working with Electrify Magazine, a new fashion/travel publication. DeMairo was there as creative director and cover photographer, shooting an editorial for the summer issue. Grimaldi was there as producer on two films, one for the magazine and one for the tourism board of Morocco. Haggerty was there as director of photography on both films as well.
Haggerty is working as a freelance director of photography based out of Brooklyn. He works in various video platforms ranging from fashion narratives to music videos, commercials, and short films. He’s also in the process of launching, Watchtower New York, his production company, a content creation brand geared towards advertising in online media.
“I think I got here based off ambition alone,” said Haggerty. “I always try to be the hardest working guy on set. I’ve also been pretty lucky along the way.”
When he was 19 he got the opportunity to shoot a music video produced and directed by Missy Elliott, which helped to kick start his career. Since then, he’s since been fortunate enough to work with some great artists and brands along the way.
“Sachem was an awesome launch pad,” he said. “There was a lot of opportunity for me to work on my craft, and my teachers always pushed me to stay focused.”
Haggerty said Mr. Kelsch’s passion for digital arts and support along with that of Mr. Scheffer, and fine art teacher Ms. Santillo, helped shift his view of filmmaking from a hobby to a career goal.
“The atmosphere in art classes allowed me to be creative, but also taught me to be a self starter and make the most of my education which carried on throughout college,” he said. “They helped me through the grueling process of college applications, which eventually landed me in the School of Visual Arts.”
Grimaldi is working in television and is in the process of launching a company focused on drone photography and video called Go Fly Ny. Sachem had a lasting impact on his career as well.
“Sachem has an incredibly open learning atmosphere that allowed me to find a passion and focus on it, as early as high school,” he said. “I remember meeting Mr. Gambler, Mr. Scheffer and Mr. Kelsch. They let all of us focus on our interests while guiding us in the right direction. I give them a lot of credit for my growth as a young artist.”
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro