The executive producer of the movie Twisters, Ashley Jay Sandberg, visited campus Monday to discuss her path to Hollywood and to give advice to future filmmakers.

Sandberg started by working as a secretary for The Kennedy/Marshall Company; since then she has moved up the ranks to eventually work on movies such as Twisters and Jurassic Dominion alongside producer Steven Spielberg.

She got where she is today through working hard and setting herself apart by being proactive, anticipating where problems would arise and coming up with solutions, Sandberg said.

“You have to start somewhere and I feel like I was of the mentality that no job’s too big or too small, and I think there’s a lot of pressure when you’re in college and shortly thereafter that you have to follow whatever your passion is,” she said.

Sandberg advised students hoping to work in the film industry to start making projects now with whatever resources they have.

“Start making things now, don’t wait,” Sandberg said. “I think there’s a lot of thinking, ‘No, I have to wait until X. I have to wait until Y.’ Like, you have a phone.”

As executive producer, Sandberg has had the opportunity to lead and set the tone for the teams she works with.

“I really try to reward hard work, acknowledge hard work, and make opportunities, when I can,” Sandberg said. “I have the ability to do that, there’s enough success in the world for everybody.”

Matt Maxwell, filmmaker in residence at the Learning Studio, originally worked with Sandberg at Kennedy/Marshall when she was a secretary. He asked her to come to help students learn more about the industry and hear personal stories about the hard work it took to get where she is, Maxwell said.

“She is at the top of her game being the executive producer on Twisters,” said Maxwell. “I wanted students to hear from her and hear her story and see how she got to where she is today. I wanted them to experience what she had to offer.”

Maxwell hopes that meeting Sandberg allows students to connect with some of the people who may feel far away due to their success.

“What I hope they got from her is that nothing is unachievable,” Maxwell said. “Sometimes we see these names within credits on a movie, Spielberg, Ashley Jay, and you think ‘I know who Spielberg is but I can never achieve that.’ Well you can, and Ashley Jay is the perfect example, she’s a hard worker, and she is a kind person and people wanted to work with her.”