Title:Filmmaker called to nursing

After earning a degree in film production and working for five years in documentary filmmaking and a variety of digital media areas, Isabella “Izzy” Seddon (MS’23) was called to help people more directly through nursing. She selected Georgetown’s Master of Science Entry to Nursing Practice Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Program after learning about the research opportunities available.

Seddon particularly appreciated the opportunity to work closely with her Georgetown professors. When Assistant Professor of Nursing Mirabal Beltran needed a videographer and photographer for her research, Seddon stepped up, eventually assisting her with community-based research.

While at Georgetown, she participated in a public health clinical rotation where she shadowed nurses in Arlington Public Schools and was awarded a grant from Sigma Theta Tau to attend the American Public Health Association’s Annual Meeting and Expo. The event’s public health film festival affirmed Seddon’s desire to share stories that are not often heard, merging her interests in public health and filmmaking.

In addition, Seddon traveled to Tanzania with a small group of Georgetown graduate students and faculty. During their trip, they met with Tanzanian health professionals and learned how public health is practiced in the rural village.

“Because we live in a very developed country, we think about the things impacting people from a public health standpoint in a hypothetical way,” explains Seddon. “But access to clean water, or food sources, is a real challenge for these villagers; they rely on the state of the environment to help them thrive. If a big storm comes, we just go inside, but for a lot of these people, their houses get ruined, and their crops are torn down.”

Seddon sees Pedro Arrupe, S.J.’s desire to form people for others unfolding in both of her career paths. “I have always liked helping the underdog. That is why I created content for nonprofits; I get to share stories not often heard. In my nursing practice the same is true as nurses help others day in and day out,” she shares.

Next, she will complete a year-long nurse residency in the emergency room of Community Medical Center in Toms River, New Jersey. “Public health is my passion and I’m excited to be part of an Emergency Department,” she adds. “It’s like a pathway into public health because you get to see everything impacting the community. I’m curious to see what the Toms River community is facing right now and how I can help.”