Student Spotlight – Jessica McCready
Meet Jessica McCready, a creative force in Los Angeles City College’s Cinema and Television program, at 35, she’s deeply immersed in directing, storytelling, music, dancing, writing and producing.
Despite overcoming housing challenges last year, Jessica excelled academically, achieving a 3.75 GPA and earning an LACC Foundation scholarship. Reflecting on her LACC journey, Jessica takes pride in maintaining focus in her studies, no matter the circumstances.
Looking ahead to 2024, Jessica is focused on completing the first season of her TV show project, venturing into film festivals and pitching film concepts to investors. Notably, Jessica successfully brought her TV show project to life with the support from the Golden Globe Foundation Production Mini-Grant award. Her achievement was recognized with an Honorable Mention in LACC’s Fall 2023 Best of Semester screenings.
Eager to evolve as a creative consultant, Jessica is confident in her goals because of the hands-on experience provided by LACC’s Cinema and TV program. This includes having access to curated spaces that offer a genuine TV studio feel, high-quality camera and software equipment, and dedicated professors sharing the formal terms, language and foundation of the industry. Jessica’s memorable moment in the program was directing a five-minute movie scene in Professor Klein’s class, recreating the intense cheeseburger scene from Pulp Fiction.
Jessica emphasizes that students can enter the field with confidence, learning the art of pitching projects following industry standards and practicing the skills through interactions with industry professionals brought in by the program. She has also discovered the rhythm in her creative process and where her inspirations reach their peak.
When Jessica isn’t behind a camera lens, she enjoys bookbinding, numerology and hosts a weekly creative movement workshop in Hollywood.
Guided by her mantra “fail loud, don’t be scared to be wrong,” Jessica stays true to what she wants in her career path.
