Reel Works Students Visit NBCUniversal!
Reel Works was honored to be invited to a special career awareness event at NBCUniversal. The day began with a tour of their spaces including news studios, control rooms and the SNL stages. After getting an overview of the different shows that NBCUniversal houses, industry professionals shared about their work and what they do. One of our Career Exploration participants, Yesmil Cepeda, said “Attending the NBCUniversal Tour was very eye-opening for me and made me understand that there are more careers than I ever imagined in the industry. There’s truly something for everyone!” Professionals from special effects, lighting, stage management, wardrobe, props, hair, and make-up all discussed the different roles in their departments and the pathways to their careers. “The event opened my eyes to some jobs and unions I didn’t even know existed,” said Antoinette Massiah IATSE Entertainment Industry Hair Stylist Training participant.
After students talked with the professionals one on one, NBCUniversal hosted an incredible networking lunch where even more industry professionals shared about their roles and talked with participants in small groups. Once lunch was over, the group watched both sides of a live newscast; the studio side and the control room. Professionals shared more about how they work together to solve problems that arise on the fly and how they prepare for a live broadcast. We ended the day with discussions on various careers that were new to some students including operations and merchandising. Students also learned about the NBCUniversal page program and other career opportunities at NBCUniversal.
“This was a life-changing event, and I am glad I was able to be a part of it,” said Melissa Belardo IATSE Entertainment Industry Wardrobe Training participant. We are so thankful to the NBCUniversal staff who helped to orchestrate an incredible day of presentations, demonstrations and networking. We also thank all of the professionals who came in on their day off or stayed after a long shift to share more about their professions. We greatly value NBCUniversal’s support of our students and their professional growth. It’s hard to express what an informative and inspiring day it was for our participants. Candice Arichabala of our Career Exploration program shared "This experience has given me the inspiration to keep on putting myself out there to achieve my goals!"
