The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of Student Media will host the NSU Multimedia Conference on Nov. 1 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Carl DeSantis Building.
The conference is open to high school, community college and NSU students. Associate Professor Megan Fitzgerald, who is The Current’s faculty adviser, said the goal is to enhance students’ skills and knowledge and engage them to think critically about media issues.
Conference sessions will be hosted by media professionals from WSVN-TV, NBC 6, Redline Media Group, NSU, Ocean Drive Magazine, Sun-Sentinel, Sun Coast Press, CNN, iHeart Radio, Mega 94.9 FM, 99 Jamz, the Miami Marlins and more. Session topics will include fashion blogging, improving on-air performance, social media and professional sports, how to find a job or internship, media ethics.
This is the third time Farquhar and Student Media host this conference. Director of Student Media Michelle Manley, The Current’s adviser, said last year’s the conference had about 27 sessions compared to this year’s more than 40. The last session will include a diverse panel of media professionals including former Los Angles Dodgers player Tommy Hutton, Emmy Award-winning journalist Brandon Launerts and WSVN reporter Vanessa Medina. The panelists will briefly share their experiences and then answer students’ questions.
“We tried to really widen the types of media professionals we invited and the types of topics they would talk about,” Manley said.
Manley said she hopes the conference will enhance what students who work in the communication field do on a daily basis and help students who are still figuring out a career path.
“We hope hosting these types of conferences will help students who are interested in this field to narrow down what they want to do, to have a focus, to be able to network and get some contacts so they can get internships, graduate and get a job,” Manley said.
Junior communication studies major Daren Hendricks enjoyed meeting WSVN reporter Kevin Ozebek at last year’s conference and learning what goes on in a newsroom. He said he encourages other students to meet multimedia professionals.
“[The conference] helped me a lot because I want to go into sports broadcasting, so it gave me a good idea who to contact and whose attention to grab, and how to really go through the process of becoming a broadcaster,” Hendricks said.
Christopher Kasbar, sophomore communication studies major, said last year’s conference was a fun experience and is planning to attend this year. He learned about interviewing, social media and what it takes to be in the media field.
“The multimedia world is always changing so it’s always good to know how it’s changing,” Kasbar said.
Kasbar and Tiffany Simmons, junior marketing major, both encouraged students to attend.
“With any major, it’s good to diversify yourself and learn about media and the impact it has,” Simmons, who was a volunteer at last year’s conference, said. “Every day we’re using some type of media and everyone is affected by it, so learning about the inner and outer working of media and how to use it and why to use it is really important.”
Manley said that attending multimedia conferences makes students more marketable in their field as companies look for multitalented people.
“The more you learn, the more marketable you are,” Manley said. “The goal is getting a job.”
Registration begins at 8 a.m. and sessions begin at 9 a.m. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Registration is free and is open until the day of the conference. To request a registration form or learn more about the conference, contact Fitzgerald at mf821@nova.edu.
