One of communication studies graduate Kelli Griggs’ '09 core memories of her time at UNCW are late nights in the editing bays working on video projects in Leutze Hall.
"Unbeknownst to me, it was priming me for the Hollywood hours that I would very soon be putting in," said Griggs, a senior creative technologist at Netflix for five years. "My friends and I still talk about those nights - how they were packed with hard work but so fun. I still use a lot of the muscles I learned from this time in my work today."
Griggs works with engineers to build creative tools. “We find ways to use technology to better assist in the “non-creative” parts of the process to allow more time for the fun stuff,” she said. “For example, making a tool that can instantly transcribe a movie or an interview, so an editor has the ability to search for any word or phrase instead of having to rewatch or scroll through to look for it.”
Prior to Netflix, she was a video editor in Los Angeles. "I love being a bridge that connects creative and tech because historically, these worlds don't work together, and there are so many possibilities for innovation when both are intertwined," she said.
Griggs enjoys traveling internationally for work and collaborating with global teams. She and her wife moved back to North Carolina a few weeks ago and are striving for a better work/life balance, which has always been important to her.
When considering schools, UNCW stood out to her because it seemed to have a great work/life balance.
"Although I didn't know what that meant at the time, I appreciated that UNCW challenged me to work hard while giving me such access to relaxation and fun – close to the ocean to decompress, a walkable campus, great places to live on campus (which I did for almost my entire time there) and amazing options for classes," she said.
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