Sam North is featured in our third edition of the SCAD Women's Lacrosse Alumna Spotlight Summer Series.
In 2008, Sam North was a high school senior in Manchester, New Jersey, playing attack for the New Egypt High School lacrosse team. Now in 2016, Sam finds herself residing in Brussels, Belgium, coaching the Belgium national women's team and playing for a club team based out of Holland. This journey that took her half way around the world was made possible here at SCAD.
Sam had a specific goal when she started looking at colleges because she wanted to become an anaplastologist. Not many people know what anaplastology is, let alone dream about pursuing a career in the field. Anaplastology is a branch of medicine dealing with the prosthetic rehabilitation of an absent, disfigured or malformed anatomically critical location of the face or body. When your career aspirations are so focused, it can be a challenge to find a college that can provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to get you into the top graduate program for your field. Add a desire to continue playing a sport you love and your pool of school choices are even more limited. SCAD was able to offer a major that could cater her course work to create the right portfolio while still letting her play lacrosse.
"SCAD gave me the foundation to move forward in my career," says North. "Since my career path was unique, SCAD helped me tailor my major to fit the requirements to apply for John Hopkins University. I don't think any other school could have provided the specific courses I needed with such flexibility."
Following her graduation from SCAD in 2012 as a painting major with portrait arts minor, Sam was able to enroll in the JHU graduate program for Arts as Applied to Medicine (which has a 15% acceptance rate). From there she got a job as an anaplastologist working for V!GO, in Brussels, Belgium. She uses her talents to create silicone ears, noses, eyes, fingers, and hands that serve an esthetic purpose for her patients.
"SCAD will always hold a special place in my heart. It was everything I could have ever wanted in a school! I was able to grow creatively while pursuing my other love, lacrosse. I mean, it couldn't get any better than that! Not to mention I also had beach nearby, got to live in the best city, and meet the most genuine people. I was always proud of the fact that we weren't the typical university or the typical art school. I was proud to be a SCAD Bee," said North.
More information about Sam's job can be found at www.vigogroup.eu/
Her personal portfolio can be seen on her website: http://samanthanorthart.blogspot.com/
Follow her art on Instagram @samanthanorthart and see her adventures in Belgium @snorth64, and keep up to date with her lacrosse team @belgiumwlax
