By Sascha Cordner
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-989762.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Students from Florida A & M University got a chance to get their foot in the door as they participated in a program that gives students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities an opportunity to learn more about the entertainment industry. As Sascha Cordner reports, that tour made a stop in Tallahassee Tuesday.
The program, called "The Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program," allows students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to get advice on how to break into the entertainment industry. Program creator Stacy Milner says she hopes students took a lot away from this presentation:
"How do you interview? How do you present yourself? When you get that job, what are the things that you need to do right in that environment so that you have position opportunities, I should say, to leverage?"
The program was held in Lee Hall on Florida A & M University's campus. And, director of the Office of Internship and Placement at FAMU's School of Journalism Yanela Gordon says it's important students take advantage of every opportunity:
"A lot of students are taking their cues from television and they must remember that that is scripted. It's not reality. And, so if an unpaid internship comes your way, and that is an internship that will take you to Paramount studios. You need to take that opportunity. Because you're getting your foot in the door, into the industry, and so, I don't want students to be close-minded if an opportunity comes to them and it isn't packaged in the way they feel it should be presented."
Gordon herself talked to students about going into the business side of the industry. Reginald Anderson, a first year Business Administration Student from Tampa, says all the presentations were insightful:
"Here are the College of Entertainment Program, I learned a lot about the industry and all the different fields you can go on, and what I needed to know if I ever had any interest of getting into the entertainment field."
Another business student, 17-year-old Joanie Del Castillo from Lima, Peru, says she was just glad that Florida A and M University even had these type of opportunities available.
"Oh, I'm very happy, because I'm learning more.I'm learning the language of business. It's cool."
Following the workshop was an hour-long career fair with companies, including NBC Universal, Clear Channel, and the OWN Network. The Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program," has been touring since March of this year, and some of its stops include Howard University, Emerson College, and Spelman College.