Elliot Sirchio ‘15 attended his local public schools through middle school and admitted that during this time, he was very badly bullied by his peers. After a brief stint with a homeschooling program, Elliot began looking at private school options and landed in Norwalk, CT, where he spent grades 9-10. Still not feeling like he’d found the right fit, a family friend suggested Marvelwood, and when he visited the campus for the first time, he recalls saying to himself, “This is where I want to go.” It's been a full decade since Elliot graduated from Marvelwood – read on to see where life has taken him! Written by Abbey Gelineau Advancement Associate for Alumni Engagement.
Elliot and I began our interview talking about Marvelwood memories. When I asked him to elaborate on some of his fondest memories, his response was “Definitely, Maizel,” referring affectionately to fellow alumnus and current faculty member Zach Maizel ‘04. Elliot said Zach knew how to push students to their full potential and to motivate them to stay focused on getting good at something. He noted that that kind of encouragement really paid off in lacrosse; Elliot admitted that at first, he “really sucked at it,” but he wound up making the All-Star Team by his senior year, and also held the coveted positions of both starter and captain. The main take-away for Elliot was that “There’s so much opportunity out there, but it’s up to you to do the work. As cliche as it sounds, anything is possible, but you won’t get there if you don’t try. And that mentality has stretched far beyond what lacrosse, wrestling, or basketball was for me at Marvelwood.”
Elliot also remembers Heather Brand, whom he affectionately refers to as his mom-away-from-home. He recalls a season when he couldn’t afford his lacrosse pads, and Ms. Brand purchased them for him. While he did manage to pay her back later, “At the time,” he said, “this was huge.” He also shared that while he was a student, his parents were going through a difficult time at home. He stated that there wasn’t a time, day or night, that he couldn’t call Ms. Brand for support: “I felt so alone on campus at that time, and she really made me feel loved.”
The third faculty member who left a significant impression was Laurie Doss, whom Elliot views as the true mascot of the school. He participated in Envirothon while he was a student and was thrilled to hear that it’s still a favorite Marvelwood tradition. While Elliot said that he was always pretty outdoorsy, Envirothon was “next level” and really changed his mind about science. He added, “You can tell Ms. Doss is a gem based on how many peoples’ minds she changed about science!”
After graduating in 2015, Elliot attended Roger Williams University, where he studied architecture and graphic design. He understood that these were two very distinct and different curriculums, and he wanted to figure out how he could combine them. After working within both fields, Elliot discovered that 3D animation seemed to be the perfect combination.
In his early days after graduating from college, Elliot relied on Instagram to showcase his talents. It didn’t take long before artists such as Ariana Grande, ARTBAT, A$AP Rocky, G Herbo, Kodak Black, Offset, and Zillakami reached out for support with their musical projects, giving him the confidence he required to keep taking steps forward. This hard work led him to a position at Spotify, and from there he moved to CNN, taking the role as lead 3D Motion Designer. Currently, Elliot is going into his second year as the Senior Motion Designer for ABC News – using that combination of animation and motion graphics that he had solidified in college.
I asked Elliot if there was a dream job – position that he would take at the drop of a hat, no questions asked. Without any sort of hesitation, he responded, “Art/Creative Director at Nike.” And before I could ask another question, he excitedly shared that the day before our interview, Nike did reach out regarding a Senior Virtual Material position they’re looking to fill in Portland, OR.
He promised to keep me posted.
“Marvelwood is a place you go to work on skills that will take you further in life and find things that you’re passionate about. The main thing for me was having a sense of support and a community that really cared about seeing me succeed. I’d never had that before. And I really don’t think I’d be where I am without it. I look back at Marvelwood as some of the best years of my education. Not only was it constructive towards my development, but it was also some of the most fun I’ve had – like, ever.”
