“Britney vs. Spears” and “Twin Flames” are documentaries co-produced by Clayton alumna Jen Maylack. Maylack shared her journey from high school to becoming a documentary producer, as well as her new docuseries “The Price of Milk.” Her career in filmmaking did not begin under the bright lights of a streaming service; it began with English conferences, The Globe and internships that opened doors into the media.

“Clayton encouraged [me] to be curious and to keep looking for opportunities and to take chances. The experiences encouraged me to feel confident in making my voice heard, feel confident in what I’m speaking about,” Maylack said. “The program specifically was so great about encouraging [me] to really research and use that to feel confident when starting new scenarios.”

Maylack enjoyed being taken seriously during English conferences, 15-20-minute conversations students have with their teacher for each essay, during which they discuss and solidify the direction of their writing.

“It was just so helpful, as a writer. To be 14 to 15 years old and [for teachers to] have an academic conversation with you and interrogate what you’re doing, I found that such a unique thing Clayton does,” Maylack said. “That’s quite rare in high school to get someone who wants to know your process. [It] was really instrumental in helping me go where I did.”

Like the subjects of Maylack’s documentaries, her own path was not immediately clear. Unsure of what she wanted to major in, Maylack relied on internships to investigate her interests.

“I did internships in a couple [of] different areas. I did a few government internships, and they were great, but I didn’t realize until I interned at ‘The Daily Show,’ and I was like, ‘I love it here so much.’ I love every single thing that’s happening.”

While immersed in the high-energy, fast-paced environment of  “The Daily Show,” Maylack did not just enjoy the work; she felt an overwhelming pull toward it. She wished she could move into the building and work all day.

After graduating from college at Johns Hopkins and enrolling in graduate school at the London School of Economics, Maylack’s persistence and connections from “The Daily Show” network opened a door. A new show, “Any Given Wednesday,” was starting up on HBO.

“They recognized my name in the resume pile, or they saw I’d worked at “The Daily Show,” I got the job as their assistant, and I went from there,” Maylack said.

Maylack soon took on roles in documentaries, eventually becoming a producer on large-scale documentaries, including her newest project “The Price of Milk.”

“It is about milk, like dairy in America, which sounds so different from ‘Britney Spears’ and ‘Twin Flames.’ But it’s looking at American pop culture through the filter of one food, which is really fun because it also gets into what our food politics are. What is our pop culture? Something I love about it is we interviewed the advertiser, the team behind the ‘Got Milk’ campaign, which is Jeff Goodby.” Maylack said.

She found that the phrase “Got Milk” changed marketing into a shared language among people from 1993 to 2014, proving the project had the same connectivity as her Netflix hits.

“It’s a shared cultural touch point in a world where we’re all looking at different things, we have different algorithms. It’s something that we all connect over,” Maylack said. “I loved the milk project so much, and I think how we prioritize food and what we talk about and who, you know, access is, is fascinating.”

Although Maylack faced many uncertainties over her future, her father’s advice helped her stay grounded and find her own path.

Maylack may have initially overlooked the Globe at the start of high school, but she is glad she decided to take a leap and join.

“The reason I joined the Globe and later documentaries is when I was younger, I had this feeling of, if I’m not already doing it, if I don’t have experience, if I’m not already good at it, I shouldn’t try it,” Maylack said. “Something so wonderful for me was joining the Globe in my senior year. I spent time thinking, ‘Oh, I didn’t join freshman year, so it’s not for me,’ and it’s never too late to try something.”

This same philosophy is what convinced Maylack to switch from late-night comedies to producing documentaries.

“It was partially because I knew I could try something new. I think at the time I made the pivot. I was 26 or 27 or something like that,” she said.

Maylack hopes that her success as a documentary producer can show students that it is never too late to follow their dreams.

“It’s ok to feel like you’re starting late at something that excites you. What matters is that you start, not when you start,” Maylack said.