Admissions Counselor
Education: 2005 B.A. in Media Arts & Design with a concentration in Cinema Studies
Hometown: Edinburg, VA
Email: nilsensj@jmu.edu
Interests: Playing the piano and guitar, the Olympics, baseball, movies, breakdancing, fireworks, camping, theatre, skiing, useless but interesting trivia, travel, canoe trips
Why I chose to attend JMU: During the process of deciding where to go to college, I spoke to a mentor of mine about what I really wanted to get out of my education. He was familiar with JMU and suggested I check it out. I loved the liberal arts education and was extremely impressed with the study abroad program – I knew I wanted to take advantage of that!
What JMU means to me: JMU means opportunity. From the moment I stepped on campus my freshman year, I knew there were so many open doors that would lead to some of the best experiences I could have. All I had to do was walk through them!
Advice to students selecting a college: Choose a college based on what YOU are looking for, not what your friends are looking for or where they want to go. If it’s the same, that’s great but don’t be afraid to go somewhere alone! Pick the college that best fits you.
Please see the Office of Admissions Travel Schedule to see if a JMU representative will be near you.
Favorites:
Professor: Dr. Charles Turner and Professor Rusty Greene in SMAD
Class at JMU: Three classes really jump out when I think back on my classes: Movies and Society, Modern Perspectives – Human Rights and Shakespeare in Performance (during my study abroad – our final exam was performing a scene on the Globe stage!)
JMU Memory: Two stand out memories: meeting my best friends on freshman move in day and my study abroad in London during my junior year.
Sports Teams: New York Mets
Books: Matilda, Eat Pray Love, Water For Elephants, and anything by Philipa Gregory
Movies: Newsies, Tsotsi, The Mission, The Namesake, Crash, Waiting For Guffman, Miracle, Life As A House, Once, Camp, Glory, Little Women… to name a few
TV Shows: Weeds and Law and Order/SVU
Musical Artists: Michael Jackson, Ben Lee, Jamie Cullum, Adele, Stevie Wonder, Black Eyed Peas, Gnarls Barkley, Vanessa Carlton, awesomely bad 80’s and I really love the In The Heights soundtrack.
Vacation Spots: London, England and Chicago
