By Henry Johnson AB '18

 In the #HWire blog's "Where Are They Now?" series, we check in with Harvardwood program alums to find out what they've been up to and to showcase their accomplishments since participating with Harvardwood! 

Naomi Funabashi was an English concentrator in the Class of 2012, and she will soon be the new CE at Mandeville Films. She was previously a Coordinator at Heyday Films and participated in Harvardwood 101 during her sophomore year at Harvard College.

Q. When did you decide you wanted to work in show business? 

A. I've always loved storytelling—it's why I became an English major and why I was such a bookworm growing up. Books were my first love, but as I got older I also started to really enjoy being in a theater and watching films with an audience. I'm inspired by the idea that a story could be powerful enough to unite thousands of people and move them to the effort of bringing that story to life—an effort that, in turn, moves the millions more who watch it.

Like a lot of people, I never really realized that working in the industry was a path open to me, until I learned about Harvardwood and went on the 101 J-term trip my sophomore year. That trip and the people I met on it completely changed my idea of what was possible.