Karen Carlson (C98)
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A Class of 1998 alumna, Karen Carlson (C98) loved her Northwestern University experience so much, she is already hoping her one-year-old daughter will some day follow in her footsteps.
An Emmy Award-winning producer, Carlson is Vice President of Tapestry International, a leading producer and distributor of quality television programs. Clearly her Radio/Television/Film (RTF) studies at Northwestern put her on a successful career path, but Carlson’s education gave her much more than that, she says.
“The most exciting thing for me intellectually was that I discovered my love of Russia at Northwestern,” Carlson says. A Russian literature elective was the spark that led her to enroll in Russian language courses, study abroad in St. Petersburg and ultimately secure a job as a language editor at a Russian publishing house in Moscow after graduation. Carlson married a Russian man, and while they now live in New York, they speak Russian at home with daughter Katarina.
“My intellectual passion really led to a lifestyle,” Carlson explains. Reading Lolita in Professor Alfred Appel’s class opened the door to her new fascination for all things Russian. “I just went crazy,” she adds. Slavic Department Professor Irwin Weil also contributed to her growing interest.
“The RTF program allowed for lots of electives and encouraged you to be passionate about your studies,’ she explains.
Northwestern was the only school Carlson applied to. “I felt Northwestern was a serious-minded school for serious people, and I appreciated that.” And those fellow serious-minded students are still among her best friends ten years later.
“The friendships I made there were and are fantastic.”
Alums play a role in both her personal and professional life, Carlson says. “In my industry we (NU Alumni) are everywhere … it’s something wonderful to have in common,” she says, admitting that she has happily hired employees with Northwestern on their resumes. Northwestern alums have always exceeded my expectations as employees.”
Read more student and alumni spotlights.
Posted: February 17, 2009
