Alumni Spotlight: Chris Bythewood ‘00

Red Fox Family member Chris Bythewood '00, pictured with his own family. Photo courtesy of Chris Bythewood '00

As an undergraduate student at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Chris Bythewood ‘00 didn’t know what he wanted to study. But after transferring to Marist College during his junior year in 1998, he found his path.

“Before Marist, I hadn’t declared a major yet,” said Bythewood. “Once I was at Marist, my major was communications with a concentration in radio, film and television.”

Bythewood always loved writing, winning a couple of awards when he was younger. But as life got busy with budding interests in sports and video games, the time for him to write became less frequent. But that passion was again rekindled at the very last minute at Marist. 

“Going into my final semester, I was short an English credit, and this acting class counted as an English credit,” recalled Bythewood. “I thought it could be fun and did it and fell in love with it.”

Initially, he was on a career path in the sports journalism industry, as he interned with CBS Sports, HBO Sports and New York Sportscene Magazine. After graduation, Bythewood was offered a sports journalist’s dream job but chose a different path.

“When I graduated, I was offered a job at ESPN, but I turned it down to go to film school to pursue the more creative side of world-building and getting back into writing,” said Bythewood.

After that, Bythewood became an executive at FOX for almost a decade and ran a TV production company for a year, but he never lost his original passion. 

“I always come back to writing,” said Bythewood. “It is where I want to focus most of my energy.”

His writing was paused for most of this year because of the writer and actor strikes, trading the pen for the picket line. Currently, Bythewood has a couple of television projects and one feature project coming out in 2024. It is because he accepted all the opportunities that have come his way that led him to where he is today.

And especially for Marist students, that advice could not ring more true. 

“The world is huge outside of campus; allow yourself to explore more than just the Marist grounds,” said Bythewood. “Study abroad. Take internships. Don't worry about your friends or what you might miss.”