SMU students had the privilege of meeting with professionals inthe field of journalism, film and television as part of the HeigiFamily Career Development Center’s Media Careers Fair.
The Career Fair, which took place Wednesday at 6 p.m. in theHughes Trigg Varsity, was organized in order to give students aninside look at careers in media and give students an opportunity toask questions and get advice from the speakers. “We provide avariety of workshops each year, and just recently decided to tailorour workshops to specific career interests,” said MeadowsCareer Counselor Laura Thomas.
The speakers included representatives from NBC Network News, ABCRadio, Dallas Voice Magazine, Video Association of Dallas,”The Teena Jones Show” and “The Other Side withChevis and Joe” radio shows as well as a freelancer infashion show production. The speakers were part of a panel thatfielded questions about how they got to where they were, and whatadvice they had for students who were about to enter theworkforce.
Speaker Eva Parks, graduated from SMU in May 2003 with a degreein journalism, and is working as a bureau coordinator for NBCsuggested journalism students get a well-rounded education.”Entry-level television jobs require lots of productionknowledge. Just wanting to be on television is not enough. Nowadaysyou need to know about shooting, writing and editing aswell,” said Parks.
Teisha-Vonique Hood, a television producer in Dallas and a 2003SMU graduate, emphasized the need to not only be knowledgeable inevery aspect of one’s field, but to be adaptable and willingto start from the bottom and do whatever possible to gainexperience.
“Volunteer whenever possible and take advantage ofinternships,” said Hood.
All the speakers stressed the need for students to be open toall possibilities when they go out and seek employment. Justbecause you don’t get the job you initially desire, it canpossibly lead to one in the future. Whatever the job is, it’sthe experience that’s valuable. “Everyone has the samejob description. Make your boss look good,” said ArnoldJones, a CCPA professor. “Every job I have ever had has beenoffered to me. Making contacts and doing whatever you can is thebest way to be successful.”
The speakers also emphasized taking advantage of resources oncampus including professors, other students and organizations likethe Career Center. Throughout the year, the Career Center isplanning a series of events like this for other students indifferent career fields.
“Next semester we will have more “Careersin…” workshops. For students interested in media, therewill be an Advertising/PR Career Fair in early March. Employersattend the fair in the hopes of hiring interns and graduatingseniors interested in the field of communications. There will beanother Recruiting Expo [Career fair for all majors] in the spring,as well as our traditional workshops on resume writing,interviewing, networking, etc.,” said Thomas. “Thecareer center holds many resources. Career Counselors are in touchwith faculty, academic advisors, alumni and members of thecommunity in an effort to stay linked with opportunities. Wereceive plenty of internship/full-time position openings and postthem on our MustangTrak webpage daily.”
Students interested in attending future events like this cancontact the Career Center at (214) 768-2266. The Career Center isopen Monday through Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. on the first floor ofthe Hughes-Trigg Center.
