Mesa JonesWisdom, connections, and fun were in store for 15 mass communication students before last Saturday’s game against UCLA.
During the Los Angeles trip the students didn’t just witness the game, they were able to visit Hollywood, media industry leaders, and top flight graduate schools across the region.
The entire trip was coordinated by Aerial Ellis, NCCU’s Wells Fargo Endowed Chair.
On Day One, as soon as the group touched down in LAX in their best business casual outfits they were taken to California State University – Fullerton for a tour of the Graduate School of Communications. The school’s charismatic dean, Bey-Ling Sha, spoke to the group about communication graduation programs and changing industry trends.
From there, students were taken from Fullerton back to Los Angeles for an industry tour of Issa Rae’s company, HOORAE Media.
There, students snapped pictures, took videos and conversed about all the editorial pictures of Issa Rae on the walls of the space. The feel of the office was like a family, especially when NCCU mass communication alumnus, Brandon MacEachern, a friend of Rae, showed up and talked about his journey into media industries.
MacEachern, the founder and CEO of the Broccoli City Festival, was the one who connected Ellis and Rae’s media company for the tour.
At the conclusion of business day one, students dined at Fixins, a soul food restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.
Day Two started bright and early with a bus call time of 8:15 a.m.
Then it was off to the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism where students had another graduate school tour with a news room tour and an in depth explanation of how their student run news room works.
After a bus ride through L.A. traffic, at 11:30 a.m. students met with Allison Wilson, vice president of media relations at Weber Shandwick, a public relations agency.
Wilson made it a point to speak to each and every student and made sure no question was left unanswered.
From the agency’s rooftop space there was a view of the iconic Hollywood sign and a basketball court where, despite being dressed in business slacks and dress shoes, students shot some hoops.
Then there was a zoom call with agency leaders from across the country. The question and answer was animated and filled with information and helpful advice.
The group was given an exclusive link to apply for internships offered by Weber Shandwick that would inform hiring managers that the applicant had attended the agency tour, a perfect way to end that experience.
On the move again, at 2:30 p.m. students arrived at Warner Bros. in Burbank. This visit was all about internships.
The Warner Bros. team gave a Powerpoint presentation explaining the process for applying for internships with Warner Bros. They even gave students a nice swag bag fanny pack with a Warner Bros. beanie inside.
At 4:00 p.m. it was time for another industry tour, but this one was like no other.
At Paramount Pictures’ Taryana Gilbert hosted the students. She and her team were open to answering every question the group posed. Mimi Blanchard, Senior Director at BET, talked about the differences among the various networks. Michael Armstrong, EVP at Paramount, talked buying show formats.
Following the Q&A, students toured outdoor sets made to favor New York. They saw sets from “Glee” and even “Everybody Hates Chris.”
The day ended at 5:30 p.m. and students went out for dinner and entertainment on their own.
Day Three was game day, but there was still media industry business at hand..
Artis Twyman, vice president of communications for the Los Angeles Rams gave the students a tour of the So-Fi stadium and advice based on his own come up story into the business of sports communications.
From there it was onward to the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena.
Ellis managed to get students pre-game sideline access passes and they were able to spend some time on the field cheering on the Eagles as they got ready for the game.
After the game it was off to the hotel to make the most of their last night in the City of Angels.
