"I was unsure how to begin this story and how to make my memories of Sam match the way they make me feel. So like any project, I felt it was appropriate to start at the beginning. Sam and I met while both attending the Theatre Department at SUNY Fredonia. Sam was a student in the Scenic Design Program and at the time I was in the B.A. General Theatre Studies Program. We met working in the scenic shop for the department and had the opportunity to work together on various projects over the semester.
I was quiet, and Sam was very outgoing and sociable with a big laugh that was connected to an even bigger heart. Sam quickly decided I was part of her friends group and dragged me out of my shell kicking and screaming. We became fast friends and she introduced me to the other production and design students. We shared our love for the stage (both on and off) and often shared experiences from shows we had been in or worked on. Sam was one of the first to recognize my carpentry skills in the shop and suggested I investigate the technical direction concentration and interview for the production and design program. I can't tell you for sure, but I think she realized before I did that this was my calling. With her support and the support of the new friends group she had instantly inducted me into, I took the jump and it literally changed my life. My entire career started because Sam saw something in me that I didn't see.
I don't tell you this to focus this story on me, but I felt like that backstory is necessary to understand what an incredibly big heart Sam has. She wears all her emotions on her sleeve and with such passion for life. That passion was ultimately sometimes mistaken for being difficult to work with, but those of us who are close to her know the truth. Sam can spot a genuine person from 100 yards away and has no tolerance for fakers. Her community is small, but anyone who wanted to be part of the circle could be if they too were unapologetically themselves.
When I think of Sam, the things I remember most include her laugh, her big personality, and her artistic drive. The laugh you could hear not only across the room, but across the building. The laugh that would make you laugh uncontrollably just by association. Sam's personality is also magnetic with big emotions that she shares with us unconditionally. Yet with that personality she is also a great listener with a huge heart that cares very deeply. She could spot a friend who was having trouble from a mile away and had a way of helping that was just intuitive. She helped me through many rough times in our college years and for that I will always be grateful.
Sam was also a Renaissance woman whose heart and personality is only even considered second to her craft. Her design work is stunning and brims with the same kind of emotion and genuinely human qualities that she was in her own life. Her designs tell stories, and she works hard to make sure that those stories are completely and correctly represented. I am always in awe of the true and raw humanness of her design work and her craft skills are seldom matched. Sam loves to collaborate as a designer in a way that I really enjoy as a technical director. She never sees the TD or crafts people working on her designs as a workforce carrying out orders, but as a part of the team helping to bring the project to life. Sam, always when we worked together came to me and said, 'I want to do this' or 'I want it to look and feel like this' and then we could talk about construction and material choices that would most likely get there. That spirit of collaboration is special and something I dearly miss.
The long story short is Sam is 1 in a million and lives life to the fullest. I am proud to call her my friend and thankful for all the memories of our times together and all the lessons learned and experiences shared. I hope every day for her return and until that happens, I try to hold her memories tightly and live my life with the same vigor and curiosity she has." Joshua Jansen
