Managing to balance a sport and the rigorous academics at Tufts is without a doubt a challenge. Managing three sports, however, might seem downright absurd. But Tufts alums - and twin sisters - Nancy Stern and Lisa Lax (LA '86) proved it was possible, and have since moved on to outstanding success in their production careers as well.
Stern and Lax played lacrosse, tennis, and squash while studying at Tufts. In tennis, each was named All-New England, and in lacrosse both received the distinguished honor of being named All-American.
They knew, however, that their love of sports would not translate into a professional sports career.
"We asked ourselves, what can we do to stay in the sports business - how can we make [our love of sports] into a career?" Stern said.
The answer came the summer after their junior year when the twins interned at WBZ in Boston with sportscasters Bob Lobel and Mike Dowling and "fell in love with sports TV," Stern said.
"The best part of that internship was during the weekend broadcast," Lax said. "Mike Dowling would report on the Bruins and the Celtics and then he would add in 'the Tufts Jumbo laxers,' so we got our women's lacrosse scores on the news every weekend."
The internship at WBZ, along with an internship at Channel 13, the PBS affiliate in New York, sealed the sisters' dedication to production. Stern found acclaim at ABC Sports, where she became the first woman ever to produce Tour de France coverage.
While there, she produced the Emmy Award winning documentaries "A Passion to Play: Stories of Women in Sports" and "Athletes and Addiction: It's Not a Game." Following this success, Stern moved on to produce ABC daytime television.
Lax, meanwhile, moved up the ranks at the competition, NBC Sports, to become the head of NBC's Olympic profile unit. She received 13 Emmy Awards while at NBC, including a Special Classification Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for the 140 different profiles she produced and directed for the 1996 Olympic coverage.
The sisters cite their team experiences at Tufts as crucial learning experiences. "I think that playing sports really did help us in terms of leadership and working as a team," Stern said.
"A unit is very much like a team - from the production secretaries to the assistants to the producers," Lax agreed. "I felt like I was a coach in a way, with captains and teammates."
Sports television, however, is not the sisters' only passion. "Telling true stories creatively has been our passion and what we're really interested in," Stern said. "There's nothing better than what happens in real life."
Lax echoed her sister's sentiment. "I love telling stories and having the luxury of time to really get into story lines more deeply," she said.
This is evident in the twins' most recent career choice: they have joined forces once again to form their own production company, Lookalike Productions. Their first film, a documentary entitled "Emmanuel's Gift" that's narrated by Oprah Winfrey, debuted two weeks ago to much critical acclaim at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. (See box.)
According to the sisters, the world premiere was stressful, since they had put so much heart into the project. "It was nerve-wracking at first," Lax said, adding that "the positive buzz about the film made it easier."
"Literally a week before the festival, an article came out in the Los Angeles Times where the artistic director of the festival said [the film] was the staffer's choice," Lax said. The two screenings for the show sold out; when the festival added two more due to demand, those sold out as well.
Though the sisters enjoyed the praise, their real joy comes from being able to tell Emmanuel's story. Stern feels that there are few times a producer gets rewards from "participating in doing something for humanity."
The switch from network television to feature film production was not all smooth sailing, however. "We were the executive producers and the couriers at the same time," Lax said. The big difference was no longer having the "luxury of a network behind you."
But Lax was quick to note the many upsides as well. "You can go at whatever pace you choose - you have complete content control," she said. "There's something to be said for that too."
The sisters, who employed four interns from Tufts while working on "Emmanuel's Gift," are familiar with the concept of working their way to the top. What advice do they have for students who want to follow in their footsteps?
"Work really hard and don't give up - it's going to take a while," Lax said. "While you're making coffees and Xeroxes, just keep absorbing everything."
"Anticipation is really important, too," Lax said. "Be really organized. Work hard, but do it with a smile, no matter what."
