THE SET
MORE THAN
MEETS THE EYE
Photo : Kevin Mills
From YouTube comedian to humanitarian aid , Milana Vayntrub , Marshall ’ 08 , is far more than the face of AT & T .
BY ALEX MORALES
YOU PROBABLY RECOGNIZE HER as the quirky Lily Adams character in AT & T commercials , but there is far more to Milana Vayntrub , Marshall ’ 08 , than what you see on screen . Though dubbed “ Advertising ’ s New ‘ It Girl ’” by Adweek , the story behind 29‐year‐old Vayntrub is one of ambition and audacity coming straight from her days at UC San Diego . The self‐made actress , comedienne , writer and producer just recently added filmmaker to her repertoire . Earlier this year , she released a DIY documentary , Can ’ t Do Nothing , about her unexpected calling to aid Syrian refugees in Greece during a trip that started off as a mere vacation . While her documentary was truly impromptu , humanitarian aid has a very deliberate significance for Vayntrub . A refugee herself , Vayntrub was born in Uzbekistan and fled the Soviet Union with her family in 1989 . “ I very much relate to the plight of any person looking for a new home and trying to resettle in hopes of a better life ,” she says . In the documentary — which was filmed entirely on her iPhone — Vayntrub intentionally misses her flight home to Los Angeles to instead fly to the Greek island of Lesbos where volunteers were needed to help with refugees . “ I don ’ t really know what I ’ m going to do but I can ’ t do nothing ,” she notes in the film . “ I ’ m not going to be a passive citizen anymore . I want to be a force for good .”
Vayntrub ’ s first-hand experience helping refugees had a lasting impact on the actress . “ I know the people we helped were just a few of the many making that dangerous trip ,” she writes in an online essay . “ A drop in the bucket . But the classic Margaret Mead quote kept running through my head : ‘ Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world . In fact , it is the only thing that ever has .’” In timing with the release of her documentary , she created # CantDoNothing , a grassroots organization focused on spreading awareness of the global refugee crisis and calling for others to contribute their time , money or voice .
46 TRITON | SPRING 2016