Nick Martiniano

“My experience in the theatre industry really guided my career choice,” says future attorney and Russell Sage College Musical Theatre grad Nick Martiniano. “Comparing the working conditions in my non-union contracts versus those I experienced as a member of Actors’ Equity Association motivated my decision to advocate for others’ workplace protections.”

Nick is a third-year law student at Penn State Law — and while he says “law school was not even remotely on my radar when I attended Sage,” his theatre education turns out to have been excellent preparation for a legal career.

“Public speaking is huge,” he said.”All of my performance experience provided the tools for effective oral advocacy.”

“Looking at what a character wants and trying different tactics to achieve that objective is not too different from the way I try to approach a novel legal issue,” he continued.

“That training granted a flexibility where I have been able to consider many different angles to try to solve a problem.”

Nick said his theatre professors from Sage continue to inspire him.

“Professor Michael Musial’s guidance was instrumental in my development as a person and professional,” he said. “I witnessed Michael tackle incredibly different projects with a tireless work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit, which has inspired the way that I try to tackle projects.”

At Penn State Law, Nick is on the editorial board of the law review; founded the Parents Attending Law School student organization (Nick is the father of two); and has held leadership roles with the school’s chapter of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, the Phi Delta Phi honor society and the Student Bar Association.

He is also a member of a legal team within the law school’s Civil Rights Appellate Clinic that recently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to consider hearing an employment law-related appeal.

“I am planning to build a career in union-side labor law,” said Nick. “I recently accepted a job with New York State United Teachers in Latham, so I will be returning to the Capital Region after graduation.”

He hopes to resume performing once he is settled in his new position.

“Working with everyone in Russell Sage’s Theatre department crafted my approach to work: focusing on kindness and having fun while always pushing yourself to produce the best product possible.”