Women of the World — Celebrating Women’s Equality Day

WY_CO
WY_CO
Aug 26, 2017 · 7 min read

Women’s Equality Day marks the day the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, was certified to the Constitution. The holiday began in 1971, when Congress officially declared August 26th a celebration of women’s suffrage. In honor of this day of progress, we’re recognizing female ferocity around the world and celebrating badass women doing badass things.

The Women Of We Roam

Earlier this summer we highlighted the women of We Roam who play big parts in leading the We Roam charge — showing people the world and all of the possibilities that exist beyond the walls of convention.

Women doing whatever they want in 2017 👆💪

Soon after that first post, we met with Anna Gyulai Gaal, a Berliner who is building bridges by hosting refugee dinners in her home. Twice a month, Syrian refugees cook for and dine with guests who pay €38 per person. After Gyulai Gaal has paid for ingredients and taxes, the rest of the money goes to the chefs.

As we continue to explore the world (26 different destinations to date) we’ll host a platform — WOW (Women Of the World) — as a way of bringing worlds together, building bridges, and giving consciousness and an expanded voice to female leaders who are shaping change, creating big things and inspiring us to live richer and bolder lives.


Today we’re recognizing one of our brilliant and brave Roamers, Molly Hellring — a pre-visualization and render artist for set designs for television shows. It was during a game of 21 questions at the We Roam Orion welcome party that we found out that Molly has worked on, not one, but two Emmy Award winning set designs.

We sat down with Molly to hear the full story…

Take us through where you started and how you went on to win two Emmys.
So I went to school at Carnegie Melon in Pittsburgh, and then I moved to New York right after that and was there for four years.

My job started out as an office job. There are a couple of steps to set design. The first is that the designer creates it. Then the pre-visualization happens, in the form of a digital 3D model, which is what I do now. Then there’s also something called drafting where they do all of the technical drawings so that it can actually get built. I started out doing drafting. It was something I learned at school and it was a skill of mine. I landed my first 9–5 at a firm called Jack Morton. I was drafting, and didn’t love it. I hated drafting when I was in school. I didn’t find it creative enough, it’s more for math minds. The only thing that was cool about it was the fact that it felt like I was doing puzzles all day. I knew it wasn’t sustainable for me, but I couldn’t see where my next move was.

Every time I went to the office I saw these 3D models and it really interested me. When I went to school I really wanted to learn more about 3D modeling, but I was denied.

What do you mean denied?
They didn’t teach it in drama school. They taught it in the school of design and the school of architecture. I put in a request with the head design advisor to see if I could take the course. It overlapped with my set design course by about a half an hour, so she said no. I was devastated.

When I graduated and was working at Jack Morton I saw my colleagues doing 3D modeling. I had always wanted to do it, so I just basically went in there and asked — can I do this? And it was kind of the perfect storm. They had a tiny project that they needed to get done, they didn’t have anybody to do it, and I had just expressed interest. So they sat me down one day and handed me a wooden truck. It was like a kids toy. And they told me to model it. They showed me how to do it. And then told me — tomorrow you’re doing the job. It was a situation where I was self-taught but with unlimited questions.

Shortly after, things at Jack Morton started to shift. They didn’t want to let go of me as a drafter, so I was kind of doing 50/50. The work there started to slow down significantly. One day they informed me — we don’t have any more work for you next week. I was very unprepared to hear that. I knew then that I had set myself up to be a freelancer. I bought my own laptop, I bought all my own software, and I made it happen. I started to let people know that if they needed anything, I could lend my hand. It grew from there.

Tell us about the award winning projects you were involved with.
The first project I worked on out of school was the new Sports Center set. I was originally hired to do drafting but also as a direct assistant to the project manager. It was such a HUGE project. I dove in head first. There were a bunch of syndicator franchise sets. There was also a Sports Center Mexico and a Sports Center Brazil and a Sports Center LA. We were doing all of those sets at the same time. They all had to be slightly different. For Sports Center LA, all the chairs are mid century modern and there’s all kinds of industrial stuff going on. Sports Center East Coast is very glossy, lots of screens, and shiny floors. Sports Center Mexico had a really small room and the building wasn’t built yet. It was a crazy project. And what followed was pretty insane. The project won the Sports Emmy for production design. I was recognized for my contributions as a drafter. For the second project I was a part of that won an Emmy, I was recognized for my contributions as an Art Director for my 3D modeling.

So you’re coming from a place of someone telling you that you can’t take a certain course. You try out 3D modeling anyway. You’re great at it. And you win two Emmys. What’s that like for you looking back?
I ran into that advisor at a showcase event they have every year. The one who told me I couldn’t take the course. She asked me what I was up to and I told her I was a full time 3D modeler now. And then she said enthusiastically — we need someone to teach that! Will you come back and do a workshop? And so in December, I’m going back to Carnegie Melon where I was unable to take the course, and I’m teaching students how to 3D model. It’s just funny how things go full circle.

What would you tell someone who runs into some hurdles en route to pursuing their dream?
In general, I would say play to your strengths. If you really believe that there’s something you should do, then you should go for it. This sounds cliché, but it really takes more than wanting something. It takes really hard work. Always keep in mind what is working for you and what is not. It’s okay to be a little bit risky because, at the end of the day, if you don’t take any risks you’re not going to see any reward.

Above all, always take care of yourself but go forward boldly.


Molly is traveling around the world with us on the Orion Itinerary. She, like many of our Roamers, is a trailblazer in her field. She’s a shapeshifter, a dreamer and a doer. Her story is one of inspiration for women around the world to keep asking questions, to keep showing up, and to keep breaking barriers.

So today and all days, women of the world, our message to you is this…

GO BIG. GO BRAVE. GO BOLD. #WomanUp


Have a story to tell about your own experience? Share it on social using the hashtag #WomenOfTheWorld and tag @weroam!


If you’re interested in becoming a Roamer, submit an application here.

One of our team members will be in touch!

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The WY_CO global members community offers an exclusive pass for select remote professionals to travel, work, and live in the world’s most dynamic cities, one month at a time.

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