Serena Kerrigan is apart of the Refinery29 Facebook Live Team and a 2012 Fieldston alumnae. At Fieldston, Kerrigan was a powerful force on campus as she directed, produced, and wrote many short films. She found her passion for entertainment through film classes at Fieldston and describes ECFS as “the start of her career.”
After graduating from Fieldston, Kerrigan attended Duke University, where she studied film and English. During her summers, she continued to pursue her passion by interning at the major film studio, the Weinstein Company, and MTV Networks. After graduating from Duke, Kerrigan got an internship at the online publication Refinery29, which soon became a job as a Facebook Live producer and host.
I had the opportunity to visit Kerrigan at Refinery29 and was able to get a behind the scenes look. I watched as Kerrigan, along with a team of several other female colleagues, organized a holiday themed video shoot. Kerrigan alternated from host to producer to director and as the shoots went on, she made adjustments ranging from fixing the lighting to choosing the sound.
After seeing Kerrigan in motion, I interviewed her to learn more about what it took to get to the actual video shoot. She broke down the process into four simple steps: 1. Conceptualize: start with a plan and vision; 2. Schedule: after making a plan, work to create an organized schedule to ensure that you are able to execute your concept; 3. Context: Kerrigan stressed the importance of context in the creative process. “How does this appeal?” she always asks. “How can we put out content? How can we make this accessible?” Through these questions, Kerrigan refines her message. The fourth and final step is filming and creating the content.
After learning more about the “behind the scenes,” Kerrigan told me about her own video series with Refinery29, Celebrando with Serena, a Facebook Live series centered around Latinx culture. Serena is Latina and is passionate about representing her culture and reaching out to other Latina women. Kerrigan noticed that many of her Facebook Live viewers were from Mexico and wanted to use her own identity to reach out and connect with other Latina women. Celebrando with Serena is an intersectional project that celebrates Kerrigan’s identity as Latinx and as a woman. “It is intersectionality as a way to connect,” Kerrigan said.
To wrap up our interview, Kerrigan spilled her biggest piece of advice. “Find what you love and get really, really good at it,” she said. If you look for places “that are fun and you respect, you will always be happy.” Kerrigan encouraged every Fieldston student to sample everything that Fieldston has to offer and to “try something that scares you.” Kerrigan is a Fieldston alumnae who encompases the ideal alumni; wise, kind, and creative.
