Sky Whaley '26

BA Anthropology
Minor in Filmmaking 

On Stony Brook:

 

On her Major:

I chose the Anthropology major because I’ve always had a love for people and trying to understand them, not just as individuals, but also our history, biology, psychology, and cultures. I added the filmmaking minor early last year when I realized that was the path I needed to follow, and it was by far the best decision I've made in my academic career. Since then, I have learned so much and made many amazing friends and connections, and I hope to be able to combine my love for anthropology and film through making documentaries.

Interests:

I’m an artist and storyteller above all else — I love many forms of expression including illustration, painting, writing, filmmaking, and editing. One aspect of anthropology that may not seem obvious is the need to publish and disseminate the findings of research, and sometimes to document the process. This is where I hope to help by informing people about interesting facts and discoveries being made, and making it fun and easy to understand for those who do not have a background in the sciences.

I also hope to share stories about environmental conservation efforts, as at the heart of all of my passions, the desire to conserve our planet’s biodiversity is #1, and conservation plays a major role in anthropology as well. I believe that getting people interested and excited is the first step to making positive change, and the medium I would like to create that excitement through is film.

Accomplishments:

• President of the Undergraduate Anthropology Society
• Mimic, my short horror film, chosen as SBU Film of the Week
• Director’s Assistant and Key PA for Golgotha, a feature-length graduate student horror film 
• Dean's List all semesters
• Expected to graduate Summa Cum Laude

Plans for post-graduation:

This fall I will be beginning my Master’s in Film Directing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, which focuses on documentary film! I’ll also be filming my first independent documentary at Centre ValBio in Madagascar over the summer, where I plan to document some of the wonderful environmental and archaeological research happening there.

Advice for future Seawolves:

Make friends with your professors! They’re really cool and nice. Go to office hours, ask questions, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and be curious. They love to chat about their research and they will appreciate the effort and interest, and this may open opportunities to explore your interests further. I was even offered a lab position just for going to a professor’s office hours once to ask about her research.

Parting thoughts:

If you would like to see my art and follow along on my film journey, you can follow me on Instagram: @sky.whaley