Billy Edelman, Sophomore, Theater / Psychology
Where are you from?
My mother is from Ecuador, and I happened to be born there, but my father is American. He is from New York. I have dual
citizenship.
Why did you move?
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Sept. 11, 2001. Basically, my parents decided that we would probably be better off in New Mexico - financially, job-security wise. My education, because the lottery would pay for most of my education, they knew about that. And if we wouldn't have moved out here when we did, I wouldn't have gotten the residency status. We moved out here just in time.
How were you affected by Sept. 11?
It drove my parents into that frame of mind - there is a lot of political upheaval. We need to get out. If Sept. 11 didn't happen, their psychology would have been different, and (they) would have stayed there longer for me to go to college there, and (I) probably would have gone to a very small community college and would not have gotten an education like UNM. It's a great place to find yourself and not get distracted by too much chaos. It's a good place to focus on school. There are a lot of weird distractions in New York. I really love New Mexico. I find these small pockets of culture.
Why should people move to New Mexico?
I think that people who move out to New Mexico always wind up here. They don't decide to come here - they end up here. It's the Land of Enchantment. It's kind of like an act of fate. I had some family that ended up here, too.
Do you have any hobbies?
I'm just starting playing in a band. I really liked them. I was friends with the guitarist, and he said, 'Hey, we need a bass player,' so I joined Stall Love. I'd say they are experimental-electronic indie. I spend a lot of time acting. I just performed in "Muddy Soul." It closed almost a month ago. I will be in "Words of Fire." It is the grad student playwright festival. I am in a play. The name of the play is "Perla y Estrella." I am not sure what part I am playing, but performances start in late October.
Do you have a job?
Yeah, I work at the Institute for Public Policy. We do research surveys over the phone, sometimes. It is student issues, national issues, things like that.
What are your plans after you graduate?
I want to go to grad school. I have had this idea of doing psycho-theater, sort of as a therapy for families and students dealing with troubles. I went to Canada for a week and trained in the Michael Chekhov technique of acting, and I find it very therapeutic and can be very beneficial. It's kind of like getting together and playing a board game - kind of like team-building in a way. I think there is a college in Florida who does it and one in New York. It's primarily an acting technique, but I think it can be made into a therapy.
