Courtney Russell never planned to teach at Brigham Young University, but a series of unexpected opportunities led her to teach in the Theatre and Media Arts department.
”It takes a lot of objectivity and humility to be able to look at yourself and recognize those things for which you have aptitude and for things which you do not,” Russell said.
Russell has built a career in production management, working as a freelance producer, casting director, location manager and consultant for short and feature-length films.
Her experience eventually led her to teach media arts production to aspiring filmmakers.
Her path was not perfectly planned; it unfolded as she said yes to new opportunities as they arose.
“I was really lucky to be surrounded by amazing creative people who somehow recognized potential in me and offered me opportunities,” Russell said.
Her first opportunity came at an advertising agency where she worked with her mother, passing files from office to office in the days before email.
When she was asked to fill a temporary secretarial role at the agency, Russell began developing new skills within the creative environment.
Those opportunities led her beyond office work and into producing and coordinating televised commercials.
“People would just ask me to do something, give me an overview … and then I would learn,” Russell said. “I began to understand what questions to ask, how to recognize when something needed doing even if I didn’t know how to do it, and then ask somebody to show me how.”
Russell said her perfectionism once made it difficult for her to try new things.
Her willingness to take risks changed while working on a long-form documentary, when her now-husband offered her pivotal advice.
“I was so worried about making sure everything was perfect,” Russell said. “He said, ‘You are going to make this so perfect that the stories are not reachable. They are not accessible by a normal audience or a normal person.’”
Russell said that experience changed her perspective on both her work and her faith, as she was meeting with missionaries and considering joining the Church.
“My willingness to look dumb in front of my friends was far easier as I began to understand that God was one of my friends,” Russell said. ”You have this infinite potential, and part of realizing that is by going to be trying stuff and messing stuff up."
Years later, that perspective helped her accept an opportunity to teach at BYU, even though she had never finished college and gained her skills outside a traditional university path.
“One of the great ironies of my life is I had to quit university so I could teach university,” Russell said.
As a mentor, Russell draws on her experience to prepare students for the realities of the industry.
“We are talking about an industry where 12, 14, 16-hour days are normal. We are talking about an industry where you are going to work for three months, seven days a week, and then go six months with nothing,” Russell said. “So the way that you learn to budget is different. The way you save money. The way your family looks."
Azelan Amundson, a BYU Media Arts student who has studied and worked closely with Russell, said Russell's teaching helped her recognize her potential.
“It feels like she demystified a lot of things and brought the industry to students,” Amundson said. ”She really cares about the students and their success and who they are and … helping them become who they want to become.”
Beyond preparing students for industry realities, Russell encourages them to stay open to opportunities, build professional networks, access career resources and strengthen their spirituality in their work.
Cameron Babcock, a former BYU student and TA of Russell’s, is now a full-time visiting faculty member in the TMA department. He worked closely with Russell as a student.
“How she sees the process of filmmaking and still being able to include God in it and include the gospel in it … is a real blessing,” Babcock said.
To help her students prepare for the industry, Russell provides hands-on experiences, such as a project she's worked on with her husband called “Congregation.”
Russell said the project explores why people across Christian faiths attend church.
The idea began when Russell and her husband visited a church congregation in England, the first in-person gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic. They observed attendees coming together and supporting one another.
Seeing churches become sparsely populated or sold entirely, they began to wonder what makes these gatherings meaningful and why church services remain important.
They also considered what losing them might mean for future generations, including the students participating in the filmmaking process.
Russell said congregations provide a chance to connect with people you might not choose and to learn to worship together.
She explained that communal worship helps people practice Christianity as the Lord intended.
She added that congregations allow past and future generations to interact, share experiences, and learn from one another.
“It's the act of handing that tray to the person next to you, which is you take the bread, asking for forgiveness from your Father in Heaven and sanctification and reconciliation, and then you offer that to the person next to you,” Russell said. “So it requires this association with people to fully commune with our Father in Heaven.”
Russell’s approach to life and teaching at BYU has had a lasting impact on everyone who interacts with her.
“It’s truly hard to think about the program without her. To think of TMA 187 and to walk in that classroom … and not see her already there — she’s already been there for probably fifteen minutes, and she’s already prepped. She’s looking over her notes, she's ready to go,” Babcock said. “It’s hard to imagine her not being here, and not being so involved because she is so involved."
All of these experiences have led Russell to believe that people are the most important part of life, even more than the work we create.
“I have this really unique opportunity to engage with people, to get to know them by name, to see the amazing things that they are capable of doing and to encourage them to do something,” Russell said. “It's such a gift to me.”