Hi everyone!
Over winter break I had the opportunity to attend the NYC Career Connections through SUNY Oswego, like my fellow blogger, Ye Jin Lee (check out her bog post about her experience here https://blogs.oswego.edu/2017/01/16/2017-nyc-career-connections/ )
Let me start by saying there is nothing more inspiring than seeing alumni from your college who are so talented and successful in their post-grad life. This was my first time ever attending this event and I was not disappointed at all. I took the leap of faith by registering for this event not knowing what to expect or if I would even enjoy myself. NYC Career Connections surprised me in more ways than one and I am so happy I had the chance to do something like this.
So, there may be many of you who were like me and had no idea what this event consists of so I’m going to explain my whole day to give you a bit of context:
The day is broken up into two portions: a day session and an evening session.
The day session I was selected for was NBCUniversal Studios with Jason Kornweiss, class of ’96 alum, who is the vice president. The NBCUniversal is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan. Luckily, I only live 30 minutes from the city so it was an easy commute. The building is absolutely stunning, inside and out, with state of the art technology throughout. My group was brought to the 9th floor to a conference room where Mr. Kornweiss greeted us with free hats and treated us to a full spread of food! The best type of welcoming if you ask me!
Mr. Kornweiss gave us a quick presentation on his time at SUNY Oswego, giving a special shout out to the WTOP members in our group. He explained how WTOP allowed him to experience many different aspects of broadcasting, both behind and in front of the camera that ultimately landed him where he is today.
After his presentation our group was given a tour of the studios by 2015 alumna Bridget Jackson who is working for NBCUniversal in the Page Program! This part was really fun and definitely something I never would have done if it weren’t for this event. We explored many of the studios in the building from Late Night with Lester Holt, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, SNL and various control rooms. Although I am not a broadcasting major it was all very interesting to get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to run these sorts of operations.
As for the
evening session, it began at 6 pm at the SUNY Welcome Center and once again we were treated to free pizza! After the pizza, the keynote speaker, Doreen M. Mochrie ’85, gave the crowd some advise as we prepare for the real world. She boiled it down to this phrase: “You’ve got to hustle.”
Following her speech, the 33 other alumni from 1978 to as recent as 2015 introduced themselves and their particular job field. Everyone then had the chance to individually meet with whom they wished to speak with.
I took away great tips on how to prefect and tailor my resume for certain jobs as well as my LinkedIn profile.
This was truly an amazing experience that I believe has shaped me that much more into the PR professional I wish to be.