LINDSAY TUGGLE
Staff Writer
Many Pepperdine students can say that they have pride in where they come from. But few people love their hometown as much as junior Liz Wells loves St. Louis.
The advertising major, who one day hopes to write for an advertising company in London, is not afraid to show her adoration for the city she hails from and its professional baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Despite her love for her hometown, Wells likes California because of its “different mentality.” A member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, she enjoys her time away from St. Louis here on the West Coast by working at the local restaurant Nobu and sitting quietly at her favorite spot, the small park at Malibu Country Mart, “especially around 5 p.m., after all the little kids are gone.”
You take a lot of pride in being from St. Louis. Have you always loved the city?
I didn’t realize that I loved it so much until I got here. It was kind of a way for me to connect with people. It’s exciting to meet someone else from St. Louis out here. We can bond over that. When the Cardinals went to the World Series, I sported my Cardinals gear for the whole week. It’s too bad they lost to Boston.
How is California different from the Midwest?
I was surprised when I came here because there is a different mentality here. It is all about keeping up with everything: the latest fashion, trends, celebrities. It’s very fast paced but at the same time it’s pretty laid-back.
What has been the strangest thing that has happened to you while at Pepperdine?
Freshman year, some of my friends and I went to the beach and an MTV film crew was there. They asked us if we wanted to participate in one of their reality shows. One of my friends ended up on the dating show “Dismissed.” Another friend and I were on a true crime show that only lasted a few episodes. I think it was called “Suspect” or something. It’s actually really embarrassing. I can’t believe I told you about that.
What did you have to do to get on the true crime show?
Well, we told this completely fake crime story and they used it, even though we made it up. The producers said it made for good television. It’s funny because all of those reality shows are just so bogus. It is all for ratings.
Working at the popular Malibu restaurant Nobu, you see a lot of celebrities. Who has been your favorite?
Britney Spears! Kevin (her husband) called in and requested a small, quiet table in the back. Before they got there, three black Escalades pulled up and all these photographers got out to wait for them. It seems like that would be a really hard life. But I guess that’s what they chose.
Why did you choose advertising as your major?
When I was a kid, I was always interested in ads. I would get mad when my parents would turn off commercials. And, I would play this game called Adverteasing all the time. It was a board game where you hear a slogan and you guess the product it advertised. So it was inevitable that it would be my major.
If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
Hmm. I guess it would be laid-back. I don’t really get upset about things. I’m just really easy-going about life in general.
01-27-2005
