What happens when we embrace fear? For one alum, it means taking risks and leaning into the fear of the unknown.

“I’m a big fan of pushing  boundaries,” Grace Oathout ’16, is a documentary film producer in Los Angeles, working on critically acclaimed documentaries for Netflix. But that wasn’t always the plan. She wanted to pursue a career in journalism, drawn to UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism & Media.

“I was a big fan of UNC, they have an amazing journalism school and that’s what I wanted to do in college. But UNC rejected me.” Grace found her way to Duke, and to the Robertson as a first-year matriculate, “I originally applied to the Robertson when I was in high school but was not chosen, so I knew about the program even before I went to Duke.”

Fast-forward to her Launch Summer, that pivotal summer between junior and senior year. Grace landed a coveted internship at ABC News working on the popular news magazine show 20/20.

“I thought, ‘this is what I want to do with my career.’ I loved ABC News, I was going to work for them after graduation. Broadcast journalism was a career path that was clear and I knew the steps I was going to take, there are a ton of alumni who had done it before me. So, it felt very safe.”

But during her time at Duke, Grace was exposed to documentary filmmaking at the Center for Documentary Study. Grace wasn’t sure that news was the direction she wanted to go in creatively, and she felt the documentary industry was expanding. She also had doubts that established mega-outlets, could be agile enough to adjust to the ever-changing landscape of media, “I didn’t see a lot of mobility for me at ABC and that made me worried.”

So, she gathered her courage and took a risk, “I had the opportunity to go to Los Angeles and work on a documentary series premiering on Netflix.” While that may have seemed like a sure bet, it was anything but. “This may sound wild, but at the time I was graduating college Netflix and Amazon Prime were just starting original content. It was pretty new, and everyone was really intimidated by it wondering, was this even going to work? And it just felt like the perfect opportunity for me to try a new endeavor.”

Her first project at Netflix? The Keepers. An Emmy-nominated true-crime documentary series met with critical acclaim for its exploration of the unsolved murder of nun Catherine Cesnik in 1969 and a ring of abuse taking place at the school where she taught.

“Taking on new challenges broadens your perspective and builds confidence for even greater ones. Moving to Los Angeles, different from Houston or New York, felt like a natural progression. I had fewer connections there, but I saw it as an exciting opportunity to build a new network. I’d successfully navigated transitions before—like we did many times in the Robertson. It’s about embracing the unfamiliar and trusting in your ability to adapt and thrive.”

Now, eight years later and Grace’s latest project is another hit on Netflix, Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter. The story explores the grit and tenacity of Cathy Terkanian, a woman driven to find the daughter she had given up for adoption and who subsequently went missing.

“In this film we explore the profound challenge of pushing yourself to look at the truth. The truth can be horrifying, but the important thing is to confront that darkness head-on, finding that bravery.”

And while those darkening truths can be terrifying, Grace finds hope in the ways the subjects in her films, and audience members, respond to the truth, “We’re just so grateful that people like Cathy, find strength to tell their stories, and similarly when our audience hears our subjects’ stories it gives them the bravery to share their stories too. You never know how people will react. And I will say, that by and large the reactions have always been thoughtful and intelligent. So, we’re grateful for that too, that our audiences respond so well, it gives you a lot of hope.”

Each documentary that Grace works on is carefully crafted through years of research, interviews, and time in the field. It’s perspective that helps her all throughout production. “I might be dedicating two years of my life to this story, but you’re meeting and working with people who have dedicated their entire lives to whatever the subject matter is – either because it’s something that happened to them, or they’re a part of a community that has dedicated their entire lives to a cause or issue.”

In addition to pushing her “fear boundaries,” Grace also relies on an ethic of care that extends to each of her interview and story subjects – a skill that was honed through classes at UNC Hussman School of Journalism & Media, and the Duke Center for Documentary Studies. “It’s all connected to this concept that I learned about my senior year in a policy class at Duke. The professor noted that when it comes to policy approaches you need to figure out are you working for, working with, or being with people. I think a lot about that in terms of my work. Is it more effective to work for, work with, or be with my subjects? Documentary work requires you to embed yourself in a lot of ways and that raises its own ethical questions.”

“You’re capable of more than you think you’re capable of,” Grace reflected. “I’m not a risk taker in my life outside of what I do for work, but one thing I’m taking on is directing for the first time.” Grace is currently filming and fundraising for her directorial debut about animal sentience.

It’s another fear boundary Grace is ready to push. “The things that make you uncomfortable are probably the things that are most worth doing.”

“You can shy away from challenges, and roadblocks – and some of them are pretty obvious like moving to a new city or working in a career you know virtually nothing about, but then there are these internal roadblocks that I wish I had confronted earlier. That’s what I really hope people can recognize –  the strength within themselves… strength like that of a Cathy Terkanian.”