To her students, she’s Professor Wendy Brill; to her friends and family, she’s Wendy; and to her colleagues, she’s simply “one of the Brills” (though she’s quick to clarify that she and fellow MEA professor Dave Brill are siblings and not spouses). 

Before she was Professor Wendy Brill, she was just a girl with a camera and a love of photography. Brill graduated from USC with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and later went on to attain her Master’s in Fine Arts with a specialty in Creative Photography -- a feat she reflects on as incredibly exciting, given that she graduated right as the world was beginning to explore digital and mixed media forms. Brill came to COC in 1997, and she’s never once looked back. In her 20+ years of teaching, her love of education and photography have only grown along with her desire to inspire her own students to explore the world of media for themselves.

Her journey towards embracing photography to the fullest started far earlier, though, than her college years. She jokingly credits one particular high school classmate with “showing her the darkroom”, and at 15 years old, she instantly fell in love -- with photography, that is.

“When I watched him take a negative and expose the pring, I was completely smitten with photography,” she shares. “I couldn’t believe it -- I’d been into art and music beforehand, but when he introduced me to photography, I was set.” Brill is currently the Department Chair of Photography, though she’s taught her fair share of photography classes at COC. She’s instructed nearly every photo class COC has ever offered, but the Black and White Photography class always holds a special place in her heart -- you could say she’s still seeking out the magic she experienced in the dark room all those years ago (and it goes hand in hand with her love of old-timey movies and costumes). 

Nowadays, with the movement towards all things digital and high tech, Brill shares that she’s still a fan of face-to-face interactions with students. Though much of her instruction has taken place through online classes, she never fails to inspire each and every one of her students, regardless of the medium. 

“Everybody has something that makes them special and strong, and as teachers, our job is to show our students that they can always be successful,” she says. “It’s important they know that it’s okay to fail, as long as you don’t give up.”

In her downtime, Brill still immerses herself in the world of photography, but she’s happy to take a break for family time, camping, and gardening, all of which she credits as her opportunities for R & R. And, of course, there’s the occasional idyllic, coffee-in-hand lazy morning that she always looks forward to.

At this point in her life, photography has become more of a hobby than a career, but don’t be fooled -- even all these years later, life will always hold a special something for Wendy Brill when viewed through the lens of a camera.