The Launch Pad (Real Time Chat)

Today, I talked to Professor Nichols after class. We discussed how I ended up at Penn State and where I hope to end up in the future.

It all started when I went to show her my group’s activity for our student led lecture next week. That resulted in me telling her that I was going to do my interview of color today, with basketball Forward and superstar Mike Watkins. This then spiraled into me talking about how I will be working for the athletic department this fall doing either live video production or electronic news gathering.

Somehow, we got into talking about my past and how I got into video production. In high school, we had an extensive video production track complete with a live production studio, a green screen, a mac lab, and even drones. I had originally enrolled by accident, but after I decided that I liked the class, I decided to stick out. My sophomore year, I had gotten my third concussion playing soccer, as gotten the flu, step, and broke my hand. That year was a struggle for me, and I was told that I wasn’t able to play contact sports again.

However, growing up, I played sports such as lacrosse, hockey, and soccer. I wanted to stay involved with the teams that I had grown up with, so I decided to help them out with video work. As time went on and I became more knowledgeable, I was able to set up commentary, a scoreboard VFX and GFX, and even was able to get the games livestreamed (if we had had the connection for it). From there, I found my passion.

My junior year, I decided that I wouldn’t let me poor grades define me. I took an additional four community college classes, all of which I aced. I still participated in extra curriculars, often times getting to school early and not getting home until 9 at night, and then proceeding to do a few hours of homework. That’s when my mindset changed, and I became driven. This past year, I was also able to spend the spring photographing my high school’s lacrosse team.

After showing Professor Nichols two photos I had taken, one of which was on the top of the Eisenhower Parking Garage on the Fourth of July, and the lacrosse promotional video, I explained how I landed here at Penn State. In Boston, Penn State has a great reputation as a very good school. Of course, there are good schools in Boston too, but nothing matches the atmosphere or opportunities available here.

During my accepted student’s day, I was encouraged to apply for the Live Video Production Internship with the Athletic Department. I did and got the job. That’s a large part of why I chose to come here, as that is an amazing opportunity for me because I hope to work in sports media when I graduate. In addition, though, somewhere with great academics, opportunities, and school spirit was where I wanted to be. Just last week, I was able to film baseball in association with a professional minor league ball club (read more about that here).

Since I’ve gotten here, I’ve realized that I’ve truly landed in the right place for me. I know that I have many more incredible opportunities to come, and I plan on using the support system around me as my launch pad into the professional world. I’m enjoying now, but I can’t wait to see where I end up in the future.

 

3 thoughts on “The Launch Pad (Real Time Chat)

  1. I wish I had taken the time to connect with my college professors outside of the times I “needed” to talk with them about grades, or missed assignments. I learned my lesson and really made it a point to connect with my professors during my graduate school journey. What a difference it made. Professors are your #1 resource and a few will be friends.

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