http://www.people.vcu.edu/%7Ejcsouth/slideshows/teffera
by Lydia Teffera
Yossera Bouchtia, now finishing up her sophomore year at Virginia Commonwealth University, can finally look to the future with optimism, and a smile.
It was only last year that she was completely lost with her major and debating if school was even right for her. Shy, and assumed to be quiet, Yossera often put the preferences and problems of other people first.
Coming to America from Morocco when she was only 6, Yossera’s commitment to her family was always strong. She tried to please her parents but it often came at the cost of ignoring her desires.
Accepted to New York University for photography as a senior in high school, and then again as a sophomore transfer student, Yossera turned it down for the sake of saving her parents the expenses.
While at first extremely down about her decision, she decided that she would not sit in her regret. John Bowers, a friend of Yossera, often described her as determined, and extremely motivated.
“It was incredible to see how much she grew in a few weeks. It was like something came alive in her, and though it was trapped, she was destined to persevere through it all.”
In an attempt to start clean, she changed her major to undecided. Photography would still be a passion of hers, but she wanted to start fresh, leaving the past in the past. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that she was in school, and that because she wasn’t in New York, it didn’t mean she couldn’t still succeed.
Always having an interest in films and the work behind them, Yossera decided to look into cinema. Her parents seemed to find it a bit ridiculous, but she had it with people’s preferences and priorities negotiating her future. It was time for her to make this decision for herself.
She enrolled in two different majors, Cinema and Psychology. While both took a great deal of time and effort she found comfort with the decision. Working each weekend with her cinema team, she helped produce and direct many different scripts.
A growing and competitive major, cinema encouraged its students to take steps and achieve for themselves as well as the department as whole. The students wrote and produced scripts on together and on their own.
Brooks Finnie, a cinema classmate of Yossera noticed the effort and commitment she had for her work.
“I had just met Yossera this semester, and we were both beginners in Cinema, but she was excelling so quickly, and she seemed so determined to learn more,” Finnie said.
This semester, Yossera submitted a script that was selected for production of a movie entitled “Clepto,” a movie that incorporates a man being framed for a burglary. More Than 40 people competed to have their script chosen, but the director and Professor Tregenza chose hers.
“I can’t believe they chose my script, its incredible and I can’t wait for my parents to see the film,” Yossera said.
A bit of success began to sink in and the fact her script had been chosen was a symbol of her perseverance to achieve. At times you must start from nothing, to find everything, and her success is a simple reminder that you are only as lost as you let yourself become.
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