Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosei Skipper.
Hi Rosei, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Well, my life path has had a lot of twists and turns! I was raised in Oregon to two VERY hippy parents. Like, born at home in the middle of nowhere, lived in a yurt, never had fast food or saw a real doctor style hippy. When I started elementary school my mom moved us to the college town Eugene because she had read the public schools were fantastic (they were!), but I’d say my childhood was pretty unusual compared to the average midwesterner.
In fact, Rosei wasn’t my first name – my dad named me “Melody Roselight”, and my mom’s hippy name was Harmony, so we were Melody and Harmony (barf). Nobody could keep it straight, so around second grade I started demanding to be called Rose. Eventually that morphed into “Rosei” (I chose the spelling because I didn’t want it to be too normal!), and that’s stuck ever since. But some family still call me Melody.
I NEVER would have thought I’d end up living in the midwest – I honestly didn’t know which state was Minnesota before I moved here. My parents grew up in San Francisco and New Jersey, and we never visited this area because we didn’t know anyone here. But when I came for residency interviews in 2010 I fell in love with the people and outdoors. I matched at Mayo and have lived in Rochester ever since! I’m sure my friends from home think I’m insane.
Going to medical school was also a major life twist. My parents are both creatives and have very non-traditional work lives. But they really supported me doing well in school and going to college. I knew I wanted to go to grad school but had no idea for what.
I’d always loved health and I was really good at school, so the medicine just sort of happened. I knew the first day of medical school that I’d made a terrible mistake, but I stuck it out for another nine years! It’s a hard train to jump off of once it leaves the station.
I went to medical school in the south, which was a *huge* culture shock. Birmingham, Alabama and Eugene, Oregon are about as disperate as two places could be. It was really hard, but I’m glad I had that experience. Moving to a place so different really expanded my worldview and helped me become more accepting of people who weren’t like me. I loved learning about people so Psychiatry was a natural fit.
I missed winter, so I only applied to residencies in places with four real seasons. When I moved to Minnesota I realized how much the word “middle” really applies to the Midwest. I appreciate how balanced people are here. It feels like a very sensible, practical area of the world and I really love that.
I took a sabbatical from practicing medicine after graduating from fellowship (I trained in psychiatry with a speciality in children and adolescents), and realized that I had no idea what I actually liked doing. I’d been studying and working so much that I’d missed over a decade of normal life – I only had a few friends and I had no hobbies. I remember googling “how to make friends as an adult”. I would do writing exercises to try and discover my interests beyond academics. It was hard to try new things and to not be good at them, but I hadn’t enjoyed being a doctor and I was really determined to figure out what I really wanted to do.
It took a few years and a winding pathway of jobs, but eventually I landed working for our city’s music department, doing freelance photography and running social media for local restaurant. I’m really pleased with where I’m at now and grateful for all of the experiences that I’ve had since I decided to change careers.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Going to grad school and knowing it was a mistake right away was pretty terrible. I had no idea how to plan for a career when I went to college (did anyone?), and I let myself get talked into living someone else’s dream. I wasn’t a musician like my dad or a visual artist like my mom, and medicine kind of seemed like the opposite pathway. I didn’t realized that there were “real” careers in creative fields. For a long time I regretted not having studied something more pertinent to my current work, but I loved college and I learned so much in medical school and residency. I had to accept that it’s just not possible to study everything under the sun!
Leaving medicine and trying to find a “normal” job was almost impossible. I would apply for various jobs and I’m sure they just thought I was insane. Why would an MD want to work at a grocery store? I realized that I’d have to make my own way if I wanted to build a new career.
I’d always wanted to do a yoga teacher training, and I finally had time, so I did two! I loved teaching and was lucky enough to get a spot at two local studios. Almost by accident I started helping out with their social media. I’d always enjoyed taking photos and was an instagram early adopter, so it was a natural fit.
Over time I picked up more small business clients. I think my first job paid me $100 a month? It was so ridiculous. People would be paying $2k for a single print ad, but not want to pay someone to do their social media. I learned over time to only work with clients that respect the value of social media and working with photographers and other creatives.
About a year later I was approached by a videographer named Tyler Aug, who had started something called “The Rochester Posse” several years earlier. The mission was to promote the local art, music, and small businesses that we didn’t see being covered anywhere else. Tyler asked if I wanted to be the host on a video series, and I said yes right away.
The project was so much fun! We met new people in every demographic of Rochester and beyond. We went to music festivals, threw our own weird art events, made more art friends, and generally ran around showing off the best that Rochester and our area had to offer. Tyler is a phenomenal videographer and has always two steps ahead. I was really lucky to do that work, and eventually it led to both of us being hired by the City of Rochester’s Music Department. It was so affirming to see that our work mattered and was appreciated.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been taking photos for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t enjoy developing film or fiddling around in a darkroom. I was so impatient and it seemed very “sciency” and boring. I had some friends who were *really* talented at it, and I guess I thought that only one person in a group can be “the photographer”. I was the only person who went to medical school, so I figured that would be “my thing”.
I should have known right away it was a mistake – I was born to be a creative! I would make these beautiful diagrams of study questions, flow charts… I’d be coloring anatomy illustrations and turning them into collages and snail mail… everything other than ACTUALLY memorizing the information. I was probably the weirdest person in my med school class, but my classmates were really kind. Honestly they were a lot more accepting of me than I was of them, initially. I’d been so biased against the south, and here were all of these people embracing me as their “west coast hippy friend”. That was very humbling and I’m grateful for that lesson.
By the time I graduated from medical school dslr cameras had gotten really nice, and I asked for one as a graduation present. I took it with me to my very first day of residency! It took gorgeous photos and I still treasure those early images of me and my classmates in the hospital. I spent the next five years documenting my life here in Rochester, my colleagues, the light outside of the clinic at just the right moment… I’ve always loved the freedom to wander and see a place with my camera. Capturing moments helped me mark the time in residency.
A lot of doctors have an artistic outlet. Listening to patients talk about their lives and watching the hardships people go through… I needed to do things with no words. I could capture a photo in the bleakness of winter that echoed what I’d heard that day, even if nobody knew it but me. I loved to walk and listen to music or books, just seeing what I could see. If I’m every feeling uninspired, meandering outside with my camera is a great way for me to reconnect my creativity.
I started taking photos professionally almost on accident – I needed more photos for my social media accounts, and not every business had a budget for photography. It was challenging and I liked it, plus photographing food and drinks is the best – you get to try everything that you photograph! I met wonderful colleagues who also work in social media, and Ilearned a lot about making things look more beautiful and delicious in a photo. It’s still very challenging for me. Some food just isn’t going to look nice, no matter how good it tastes!
I can’t really remember why I started doing concert photography. Maybe just because I went to so many concerts? Musicians who are starting out rarely have good photos of themselves to use for promotion, and it was so fun to bring my camera along and then send them a few shots! I’ve always been a bit socially awkward and bored at big events, and having a camera gives me something to do.
Eventually I started getting paid to take photos, and I’ve even shot for big media outlets like The Current! I’m still very much learning though. Some days I love the photos and other days I think, “my god I should give this up.” There are so many amazing photographers in Minnesota, and everyone I’ve met has been so kind. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t ask questions or
One of the best things I’ve gotten to do with my photography is traveling with my childhood friend Lila Heller, a pilates teacher who leads retreats around the world. Once or twice a year she brings a group of students somewhere incredible on a week-long adventure. It’s been an amazing opportunity and such a gift to spend time with my lifelong friend.
Recently I applied for and won my first grant! I was awarded an “Emerging Artist Grant” from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, for a project combining portrait photography with collage work. I’m really excited to dive deeper into more creative projects.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
You can follow me on instagram at @roseiskipperphotography.
I always love meeting fellow photographers, shooting together, or taking creative photos of artists, musicians and people.
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