Seven members of the University’s Hawk TV station had the opportunity to attend the 2014 National Broadcasting Society (NBS) Convention at the Burbank Marriot Hotel in Burbank, CA, from Wednesday, March 12 through Saturday, March 15. Hawk TV left with four grand prize awards and seven honorable mention titles.
Students Olivia Caruso, Courtney Carr, Erik Massimino, Eric Brewer, Jessica Rossi, Alexa DeRosa, and Andrew Bern boarded a plane Tuesday morning and headed for the California convention. The convention began with opening speeches from speakers such as Steve Mosco, President of Sony Pictures Television, and Marc Summers, the former host of Nickelodeon’s show “Double Dare” and the current host of “Unwrapped” on the Food Network.
Throughout the convention, students were able to attend a series of panels where they gained knowledge and advice from professionals in the broadcasting and television field. The panels took place every day from 9 am until 2 pm.
“Each panel was 45 minutes long and had anywhere from one to three panelists presenting and answering our questions,” said Carr, a junior communications major. “There were always three panels occurring at once, so we had to be careful which we chose.”
On the third day, students were allowed to participate in a networking event. This two-hour event gave student the opportunity to meet with thirty professionals from different companies and job titles.
The award ceremony, where students were recognized for the work they submitted, took place on the final night of the convention.
“There were various categories in which students were allowed to submit work,” explained Caruso, a junior communication major with a double concentration in television and public relations. “These categories included music videos, scriptwriting, audio, newscasts, promo, comedy, website, and documentary, among many others.”
Hawk TV was up for eleven awards and came home with four grand prizes, which went to Massimino, Brewer, Carr, and Rossi, and seven honorable mention titles, which went to Carr, Caruso, DeRosa, Bern, Rao, Massimino, and Blair.
“I received the grand prize in the ‘Drama – Scriptwriting’ category for my script entitled ‘Bumpers,’” said Carr. “DeRosa, Caruso, and I also received honorable mention in the ‘Promo’ category, for Hawk TV Open House Promo,’” she continued.
Throughout the trip, when the students weren’t attending panels they were exploring California.
“I was able to attend a ‘Chelsea Lately’ show at Universal Studios, see the ‘Captain America’ movie premiere red carpet event, and even hike halfway up the mountain to see the Hollywood sign!” Caruso said.
“One of the biggest benefits of attending the conference is the chance to network,” said Meyer, a first year graduate student in the corporate and public communication program. “NBS is a professional organization. Students can network and meet people in the profession.” These network opportunities included people from companies such as Disney, Yahoo, ESPN, Tosh.0, Mac Miller Productions, TLC, and KIIS FM, among others.
Caruso was blown away by all of the people she got to meet and the adventures she got to go on while on the trip. “Attending the NBS trip was the best decision I could have ever made,” she said.
Caruso continued, “Not only was I able to listen in on the panels and learn more about my career, but I was also able to network with professionals in the field. I had the chance to speak with music video directors, entertainment reporters from E! News, casting directors, and executive producer of ‘American Idol.’”
Now that she is home, Caruso plans to keep in touch with the professionals she met while on the West Coast. “I find myself getting more and more excited about my future when I think back about the NBS trip.”
Carr explained that her favorite part of the convention was listening to keynote speaker, Marc Summers, because he was honest about how the industry really works and answered a lot of helpful questions.
“He said he would love to have students come shadow some of the positions where he works, so he told me to call him,” Carr continued. “And he also told me that I was hilarious. That was definitely the most exciting part for me, personally.”
