One Foot in Front of the Other: Alyssa Limperis Bridge’12 on Career Reinvention and Success

Alyssa Limperis, Bridge’12, actress and comedian, reflects on her journey from Tuck Bridge to comedy—blending creativity with business, defining success on her terms, and embracing growth through career shifts.

What accomplishment are you most proud of since completing Tuck Bridge?

I went to Tuck Bridge just days after giving my graduation speech at Middlebury College. I remember my dad watching me speak—he was so proud. In a way, he was able to see me do a version of standup and the life I live today. Though my dad passed away before he could see everything my life became, I’m incredibly proud of a special I filmed called NO BAD DAYS on Peacock about him and my experience losing him. He was in the front row of my graduation speech, cheering me on. Though he couldn’t be in the front row of my taping, he was in the actual production—his words, his story, his life—being shared with the audience. I’m really proud of that.

How did Tuck Bridge influence your career path or academic journey?

While my day-to-day looks very different from my time at Tuck, Bridge taught me how to run a business—and from day one, that business has been me. Today, I work independently, and I’ve also co-founded a production company called T43 with my friends Emily Murnane and Andrew Daugherty, where our ethos is creating low-budget films that move us.

The business acumen and entrepreneurial mindset I gained through Bridge have been invaluable in helping me balance the creative and practical sides of my work. I believe both are essential in this industry, and I’m grateful to have received two educations—one in comedy and acting, and one in business. My creative background taught me how to hone my craft, and Tuck Bridge showed me how to turn that craft into a viable business.

This fall, I had a full-circle moment when I played a businesswoman in the final season of What We Do in the Shadows. It felt like coming back to where I started—in a fictional world—doing what I love. I also co-wrote a comedy about the finance world with my friend May Wilkerson, which is currently on the market. I definitely leaned on my financial background throughout the process—pretty sure I even pulled out an old Tuck binder during the writing!

What’s something about you people would be surprised to find out?

I think most people would be surprised to learn that I attended a business program at Tuck—my life now feels pretty far from business school! I went straight from my final day at Tuck Bridge to my first day at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, so things shifted fairly quickly. One week I was wearing suits, and the next I was wearing an apron, waiting tables by day, and doing comedy in basements at night.

It’s been a long road, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Every step has helped shape my identity, my voice, and my career. Tuck helped me—a psychology major who nearly failed her econ requirement—realize that growth is possible as long as you’re willing to put in the work. Even doing this interview serves as a reminder that your life can change if you choose to change it.

Looking back on my journey from Tuck to today, one guiding principle stands out: put one foot in front of the other and keep doing the work every day. Whenever I feel stuck, the answer is always to keep going. Keep working, keep learning, keep putting yourself out there, and keep trying. Tuck taught me that if, in one summer, I could go from knowing nothing about finance to learning how to do a valuation of a company (that I bought stock in and still own!), I could go from not having a path in this career to forging one.

How do you define success at this stage in your life and career?

I was a runner in high school and a bit in college, and running always felt like a competition against myself. It was about pushing to get stronger and faster, always striving for that new personal record (PR). I feel similarly about my career.

Above all, I’m thrilled that I get to do what I love for a living—every day feels like a gift to me. Beyond that, I am always trying to get stronger and improve. I define success by asking myself, 'Did I grow this year? Did I do things that scared me? Did I get better?' I'm always striving for that new PR.

What have you recently read, watched, or listened to that you’d recommend to others?

I’m loving this band, Trousdale, I am obsessed with watching The Pitt, and I read Instagram quotes on my phone. I have to read a book … One of these days.