“I love it when people get their heads chopped off,” Genna Edwards (A&S ’21) says with glee as she reflects on her love for horror films and literature, “I just want to write scary stuff.”
Along with working to make her way in the male-dominated world of horror, the English Writing and Film Studies double major had internal struggles to overcome.
“I did not have a lot of confidence in myself until I went abroad. It was then that I realized I understand this genre and I love it, and it gave me the confidence to pursue this as a career.” - Genna Edwards (A&S ’21)
Genna received the Carey Ambrosio-Gotti Endowed Scholarship, which allowed her to travel to Europe as part of the Pittsburgh-London Film Program. Genna made the most of it by taking side trips to Paris, Scotland, and other typical destinations. She also stepped off the beaten path to visit old cemeteries where she gathered hours of film. All made possible by scholarship support.
“One class had a project for the whole term to make an essay film. I decided to submit my film to festivals, and it placed as a semi-finalist in several,” Genna said. “It boosted my confidence even further.”
Genna was so confident in herself and her career goals that she applied for and earned the Lynne Layton Internship in Pitt’s Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program, which allowed her to travel to New York City to explore women in horror. She spent time in the Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) Archives at the New York Public Library, which helped her show the world that there have always been, women in horror.
Only a few months out of college, Genna is still looking to make her mark in Hollywood. In the meantime, she carries with her memories of the relationships she forged while at Pitt and the gratitude she has for those who created the funds that made her studies possible.
“Their support meant the world to me. Just knowing that people were interested in what I’m passionate about and want to explore makes me hopeful for my future.”