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Wanderlust and electricity

by Caitlin Carmody

Emily Markovitz has never gotten a speeding ticket, and it's not because she drives slowly.

"I don't get speeding tickets because cops think I have cancer, and it doesn't bother me that cops assume that, but it makes me feel bad sometimes, having people tell me about losing their prostate and things like that, are a little awkward," Markovitz said.

She has an autoimmune disease called alopecia, which in Latin literally means lack of hair. Markovitz got the disease when she was three, and ever since has had no hair on her body.

Markovitz notes cheerfully that she often gets asked why she is bald, but that it doesn't bother her. She has a remarkably good sense of humor about having alopecia and talks about it easily.

Explaining that there is no known reason for alopecia, Markovitz notes that sometimes it is caused by stress, but says that probably wasn't the cause in her case because three-year-olds aren't very stressed out.

"It wasn't like, 'Oh no Mommy, the dog moved!' and I lost all my hair," she joked.

Markovitz says she often has people ask her if she is a survivor, meaning a cancer survivor, and she says it's hard to think of a tactful response.

"I kind of feel like I should somehow know what to say, but I'm not good with people," she said. "They'll ask me if [I'm] a survivor, I'm like, 'no shit, I've survived nothing'."

But Markovitz is too busy to let the disease bother her, especially because there are no adverse side effects.

"I don't remember having hair, so it's always been kind of the same," she said. "It's kind of hard not to be used to it."

After graduation, Markovtiz plans to work on an island off the coast of New Hampshire, and after that she will likely move to Denver for awhile to live with friends. Ultimately, she has plans of travel and electricity.

"Colorado is just an idea for a year or so, and eventually I want to not be in this country," she said. "I'll probably be rotating for awhile and roam around, I have a lot of wanderlust."

She says she would like to travel to Chile again, where she spent time studying during her time at Grinnell, and says she likes the idea of being able to use her Spanish speaking skills. She would also "not mind going back to Florence."

Markovitz, a math major, has considered becoming a high school teacher, but at the moment the idea of becoming an electrician is more enticing, in part because it would not be a stationary job.

"I like the idea of having a job that gets me out doing stuff, and I know a lot about wiring and electrics," she said." "And I think it'd be interesting...the math that I study is not particularly concrete or applicable."

Her interest in lighting and wiring comes from extensive work with the theatre department at Grinnell, where she has both acted and worked on lighting design.

"When I first got here I was [working] in lighting design, so I have that connection to electrics," she said.

"I was starting to work in electrics and lighting and stuff, but I decided not to do that too seriously, I just have a general interest in technical theatre, set construction and lighting."

Markovtiz has also acted in several productions, including The Illusion, Waiting for Godot and last semester's Las Meninas, but says that she doesn't aim to make it a career.

"I have trouble taking most things seriously, I just think it's more of a personal love of it. I feel like I get a lot of a script when I'm part of it," she said.

"You're really kind of emerging yourself in something, and it's just a good feeling. Every aspect of theatre lets you do it…I really like that about it, you get to really understand something fully."

While staying in the same place for four years "drove [her] crazy" while she was here, Markovitz is still emotional about leaving.

"Now that I appreciate [Grinnell] and like it here, it's starting to hit me that I'm leaving," she said.

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