By ISABEL MORA
Contributing Writer
Most young adults don’t know their life plans, including those in college. But almost all young adults have goals and hopes, especially if they are attending college. There are those who decide not to go to school and don’t have a plan or any goals set.
But this isn’t the case for 19- year-old Emma Beckman-Moore, who is currently not attending school, but instead working, pursuing goals, and living on her own, like many at this age.
Beckman-Moore lives just down the block from the popular Madison Pizza, just around the corner from where she went to Albany High School, and a few minutes from the College of Saint Rose. As a former Saint Rose student and a local, she knows many people in the Pine Hills neighborhood, and as an Albany native, she feels comfortable in the city.
After graduating from Albany High School in June 2012, Beckman-Moore started at The College of Saint in the fall 2012 semester. But at the beginning of the spring 2013 semester, she was forced to withdraw from the College due to several scheduling mistakes that went unnoticed until it was too late.
The number of credits she was taking was under the full-time requirement and her financial aid was withdrawn. That left her with two choices— either pay full -price tuition, or leave the College. She chose to leave, because, like most, she could not afford to pay the full cost out-of -pocket.
Although not everything worked out the way she planned at Saint Rose, Beckman-Moore remained determined. As the oldest of three, she’s used to responsibility, and during her time off from school, she has her goals set. And she’s always been the responsible one among her friends, as well.
“She’s the big sister—she taught me the little things,” said Cora Fuller, Beckman-Moore’s best friend since birth.
Beckman-Moore wants to pursue modeling, be more creative and do more art, get an internship at a tattoo parlor, and go to University at Albany.
After leaving Saint Rose, Beckman-Moore was hired by Capitol Hill Management last May as a receptionist. As a receptionist, she’s responsible for sending out mailings and organizing client files, as well as traditional duties like answering the phone. Over the summer she worked 35 to 40 hours a week, but once fall came she cut back to 20 hours a week, allowing her time to pursue other things.
When Beckman-Moore was in high school she was part of the fashion club, which spurred her interest in modeling and fashion. While still in high school, she auditioned for the TV show America’s Next Top Model, and took part in fashion shows put on by the school fashion club.
She was not selected for America’s Next Top Model, but she still remained passionate about modeling. Since the audition, she’s done several photo shoots to start building her modeling portfolio. She also would like to be part of Fashion Week in New York City in February as a runway model.
She has yet to be paid for her modeling, but is hopeful that she will be eventually. Recently, she’s done two photo shoots with photographer Mark Rosebeck, who has had photos published in Vogue. Beckman-Moore doesn’t have to pay for the photo shoots with Rosebeck, but it’s not uncommon for aspiring models to have to pay for photo shoots.
Since high school, Beckman-Moore has always loved art. She’s always decorating and being creative in some way, according to Fuller. Her love of art has made her also interested in tattoo design and becoming a tattoo artist.
She became obsessed with the TVseries LA Ink, which really started her interest in tattoos. As her friends began getting tattoos, she noticed that they weren’t always well designed or well done, which led her to realize that she could design and give better tattoos.
She has designed tattoos for friends and family. She hopes that her interest will go farther than just designing tattoos. She wants to get an internship at a tattoo parlor in the area and learn more about the trade.
But Beckman-Moore’s goals aren’t just about tattooing and modeling. She also plans on becoming a full-time student at University at Albany. She’s unsure what she will study when she’s there and will go in as an undeclared major. Since she has interest in art, she plans on taking some art classes. But she also wants to take classes in biology, which is another one of her interests.
She feels that although she loves tattoos and art, she’s scared of it because making it into a successful career can be very difficult to do.
“I want to be realistic but stay true to who I am,” Beckman-Moore said.
She knows that what she studies will determine a lot in her life, which is why she wants to take classes in two fields of interest before declaring her major.
“You can’t always control the future—just think positive,” Beckman-Moore said.
