Meet Stacie McClam

We recently connected with Stacie McClam and have shared our conversation below.

Stacie , so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I cannot say that I have overcome imposter syndrome, but I am working towards overcoming it. Currently, I am a filmmaker. It has been a difficult journey after I resigned from the teaching profession in 2018. I had to change my career path and had temporary jobs until I committed to becoming a filmmaker full-time in 2022.

The imposter syndrome comes into play because I sometimes ask myself, “Who do you think you are being a filmmaker? You don’t know anything about making films. You have no entertainment background or connections to dealmakers in the industry. You did not attend film school, and you’re changing careers at over 40 years of age. You don’t have a large team and have not received any grants for funding. What are you doing? Imposter syndrome is negative self-talk. While some of these thoughts occasionally cross my mind, I try to be grateful, be positive, and think about what I do have.

For example, I do not have a million dollar budget, but have been working with the micro budget that I have for the last 3 years. I do not own expensive 4K camera equipment, but I can use my iPhone 14 Pro Max phones to film. I do not have a large team to divide up the tasks to, but I have a small team of committed and talented individuals.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am the founder of a film production company called School Dismissed that focuses on K-12 public education issues. The goal is to use art as advocacy. I would like to bring awareness to education issues by bridging education and law through film. My business and background is unique because I am a teacher turned filmmaker. I was an elementary school teacher for 10 years across the United States and abroad. I graduated from law school in between my teaching career. I decided not to continue working in the education field directly and not to practice law. Thus, I bring a unique perspective to filmmaking.

I am in my third year of production for a documentary about an Ohio mom who was jailed for 9 days for falsely using her fathers’ address to enroll her daughters into the school district where he lived. The film focuses on the positive things that the film participant, Kelley Williams-Bolar, has been doing since she was released from jail more than a decade ago and shows how we do not have to be defined by our past.

This year I intend to write, direct, and produce a trilogy of narrative fiction films that take place at an elementary, middle, and high school respectively. The films will be entitled School Dismissed, each with a different sub-title.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I have relied on courage, perseverance, and faith for the journey that I’ve been on. It takes courage to do things that frighten you. Once you actively pursue anything, there are naturally challenges and growing pains especially when you are venturing into something new.

Perseverance to keep going when you do not see any progress is not for the faint of heart. Not everyone is up for the challenge. It takes perseverance to continue in the face of adversity and when you see no success or fruits of your labor.

Faith is a choice of the heart. I choose to believe in God. I believe that there is a purpose in my journey. I don’t know what the purpose is yet, but I do not believe that I would be brought this far for no reason. The bible explains walking by faith and not by sight.

My advice for people who are early in their journey is to think about whether they want to be on the sidelines of life, not fulfilling their purpose or being their best self, or if they actually want to be in the game of life actively playing even though it’s hard. Sitting on the sidelines is easy. Playing the game is hard. Whatever you decide is fine, but it’s important to be content with your decision and understand the consequences of each.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
I being challenged to improve my emotional intelligence. As a result of life transitions during the past 2 years, I have had time to self-reflect and identified areas of improvement. When I was an elementary school teacher, I used a large poster with different emojis with adjectives describing each emotion. This was used to help my students understand how they were feeling in an attempt to better express how they felt in a positive way instead of simply reacting. Now I am attempting to learn it on a deeper level and with myself.

I have been watching videos and reading books about emotional intelligence. I recently purchased an ebook that was recommended called iNeverWorry: Emotional Intelligence by Derrick “DB” Bedford. My intention is to improve my communication with others by improving my emotional intelligence.

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