Georgetown alum speaks on Harry Potter, college experience
Posted by: Julie Patterson in News, Vox Populi, tags: Georgetown Lecture Fund, Harry Potter, Melissa Anelli
Last night, Melissa Anelli (COL ’01), webmistress of the popular Harry Potter fansite The Leaky Cauldron and author of Harry, A History, spoke to students and fans alike about her rise on the internet, the wizarding world of Harry Potter, and the rollercoaster ride that was her four years at Georgetown.
Anelli began her speech by acknowledging the rivalry between The Hoya and The Voice—Anelli was a Hoya staffer in her day, but admitted that Vox‘s recent post was “one of the nicest things ever written about [her.]”
Much like Potter author J.K. Rowling, Anelli’s is somewhat of a Cinderella story. After four years at Georgetown, where she began her college career as a pre-med major and ended it with a degree in English, Anelli was unemployed and feeling “useless,” as she put described. But through the magic of Harry Potter, she was able to find her calling.
When she got her first scoop—the first photo of the Potter film cast in costume from Vanity Fair—she landed a (nonpaying) job at The Leaky Cauldron. Her luck turned from there. She found paid employment with MTV Studios, met J.K. Rowling herself in London, advanced to work as a report for the Long Island Advance, and published her first book in 2008.
In addition to discussing her own rise to success as well as that of JK Rowling, Anelli compared her and Rowling’s struggles to those of the average Georgetown student. “Don’t turn your back on ‘the flaw in the plan,’” Anelli said.
Later, to the delight of the audience, Anelli answered a question that has plagued many a dorm lounge on-campus: Which Georgetown school corresponds to which Hogwarts house?
While Vox has some reservations about her answer—NHS is Hufflepuff, MSB is Slytherin, SFS is Gryffindor, the College is Ravenclaw—we won’t argue with the expert.
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SFS IS RAVENCLAW. COLLEGE IS GRYFFINDOR. This has long been a thing.
Interesting. In my discussions, the college has always been the de facto Gryffindor simply because we are the first and biggest, and therefore the “main characters.” But I can see where shes coming from saying we are Ravenclaw. I suppose we have more of a thirst for knowledge of various subjects.
[...] “Ivan” wanted to end the “Which school is which Hogwarts house?” debate, once and for all: SFS IS RAVENCLAW. COLLEGE IS GRYFFINDOR. This has long been a thing. [...]