Jules Work ’23 is With the Band
The Welsh band Catfish and the Bottlemen put out hits like “Kathleen” and “Longshot,” but they’re also credited with luring one Gull to Endicott.
Four years ago, Jules Work ’23 traveled all the way to Boston from her home state of Virginia to see the group. The trip was doubly fortuitous, as she got to catch her favorite band before they broke up and also tour what would become her future school.
“They’re pretty much the reason I’m here,” Work said of the now-disbanded group, with a laugh. “I toured the school the same day that I went to the concert. Endicott just kind of fit.”
Work loves music. Like her mom, she’s a proud Taylor Swift stan; and like her brother, she’s into Oasis. She’s also an animal lover. Thanks to her help, her cats Chole and Kiwi enjoy internet fame, with hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers hanging on their every move. And for her thesis, she made a short film about rehabilitating birds of prey affected by urbanization efforts with help from the Owl Moon Raptor Center in Boyds, Md.
“Every time I get the opportunity to do something involving animals, I’ll do it,” said Work, a digital media major who has married her lifelong passions in music and photography. “I just love animals, and I like bringing joy through animals. The two films I’ve made that I loved both involved animals: my thesis and one with a bunch of snakes.”
During her most recent internship at Landmark School in Beverly, she captured photos and videos of student life for social media.
She was also tasked with photographing the performing arts programs, including the school’s production of Carrie, which set the scene for one of her favorite images to date—that iconic blood dump.
“I went almost every night and I knew exactly what was going to happen when, so I knew where to be for the best shots,” Work explained. “I made a list on my phone of all the camera settings I needed for certain scenes. It ended up being the best work experience I’ve ever had.”
She loved her time at Landmark and the feeling was mutual; the school has already invited her back for future photography gigs. The experience also helped her gain footing in what was once uncomfortable territory—photographing people.
Growing up, Work spent most of her free time successfully photographing animals in their natural habitats. Taking photos of people, however, didn’t come as naturally—until her experiences at Landmark and Endicott.
“When the kids saw me at Landmark, they immediately felt comfortable being on camera. They would pose and be silly. I didn’t expect to love it that much because I wasn’t huge on people photography,” Work said. “At Endicott, a lot of my classes have been about lighting and controlling the person. I was kind of pushed into people photography, but I expected that, and now I like it a lot more.”
Through her studies at the College, she’s also been able to pinpoint what she does and does not want from her future. She’d enjoyed her forays into filmmaking but doesn’t foresee a career in the field. Although she gained strong skills with modeling subjects, she probably won’t pursue a lucrative career in wedding photography. But with graduation on the horizon, she has decided what she wants out of life.
“I want to be a concert photographer who travels with the band and has free time to take wildlife photos when they visit cool countries,” Work said with a smile.
With her experience at Endicott, Landmark, and her internships, including with the Flip the Lens short video platform, Work is ready to build up her concert portfolio using her powerful new Canon EOS 90D, even if it may take a while to build a career with steady clientele.
“I can’t remember what I did before I started taking photos,” continued Work. “I’ve always loved taking photos and it’s still so exciting.”