Hawk TV has debuted a show that highlights the variety of talents students possess across Monmouth University, Creation Corner, which is 30 minutes long and is taped bi-weekly.
From performances to showcases, Creation Corner features a wide range of topics and interests from across campus. The show is recorded every other Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Hawk TV studio on the first floor of the Plangere Center. The first episode of the show, which was uploaded to Hawk TV’s YouTube channel on Mar. 5, 2024, featured a student who made her own trinkets, a student who put on a musical performance, and a student who works in photography.
“Inspiration, creativity, and talent,” are the three words that Jefferson Gonzalez, a senior communications student and the executive producer of the Creation Corner, used to describe the show. Gonzalez is responsible for gathering students to be featured on the show, editing the footage after it is taped, and publishing it for people to see. While it takes a lot of work to put the show together, Gonzalez believes it is important for students and their talents to be seen. When asked why he puts the show together for students, he remarked, “We just want to give them a platform to showcase their art and get to know them a little bit more than just their artwork.”
Giovanna Territo, a junior media studies and production student and the president of CommWorks on campus, performed on the show at the beginning of the fall semester. Her performance was a recitation of a poem she wrote about her homeland, Staten Island.
While reflecting on her performance, Territo was thankful that she was able to get her voice out in a fun and enjoyable manner, as she remarked, “I always want to get my voice out, but to be able to do it for fun is even better.”
She also believes that the show is a great way to express who you truly are to the outside world. Territo said, “Creation Corner is an outlet to be yourself and to show people who you are.”
Professor Robert Scott, a Specialist communication Professor is the faculty advisor for Hawk TV, endorses the new show and believes it is a great opportunity for the organization and Monmouth students. Scott emphasized, “Creation Corner is an entertaining program and a great opportunity to showcase the talent of Monmouth University students.”
With the show featuring a wide range of different talents from different students, it builds a sense of community by putting everything under one branch. “Building a community like this and involving different interests and putting them all together really is something special,” Gonzalez said.
Sage Fernandez, a sophomore communication student, has watched the Creation Corner and was grateful for how the show opened her eyes to some of the talents her fellow students have across campus. “I felt a great sense of inspiration from these students,” she said.
She continued, “Creation Corner shows where people are currently, where they want to be, and where they started, which I feel like a lot of people need to hear.”
Creation Corner is the fourth show that Hawk TV shoots currently, and the Fall 2024 semester is the first full semester of the show’s existence. It joins a rotation with Triple Scoop, which is a show about pop culture, Extra Point, which is a show about sports, and News, which covers the top stories on campus and abroad.
While Creation Corner seems to have positive impacts on the campus community, it also benefits the Hawk TV organization as well, according to Professor Scott. “Expanding beyond our regular programming gives the organization the chance to experiment with new ideas, recruit additional talent, identify new opportunities and perspectives, and expand our channel offering.”
Scott believes that Creation Corner could potentially open up the door for even more fresh content that Hawk TV can produce. Scott said, “In short, successful new series such as Creation Corner will inspire others to experiment with other fresh concepts, a process that is critical to the organization’s success.”
While this show is a step in the right direction for Hawk TV, the amount of shows that the organization produces weekly has decreased over the years, in large part due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Creation Corner, like any other Hawk TV show, takes a group effort. While Gonzalez does produce and plan the show by himself, the actual recording of the show cannot be done alone. Members of Hawk TV help with camerawork, organization, and the technical side of the shoot. Each recording takes approximately one to two hours, and the final product is typically published to YouTube a few days after taping.
Gonzalez claims that people from notable clubs such as CommWorks, Hawk Interactive, and Hawk TV itself have been featured on the show. With plenty of more recordings to come, Gonzalez is confident that the show will continue to reach out to organizations across the university, because this is what he loves to do.
“I love when people share their passions and when they talk about it,” concluded Gonzalez.
