Photo by the Kogod Center for Career Development
About a week ago, I was lucky enough to join 80 other AU students on the annual NYC Site Visit Trip. It was a jam-packed four days but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Below are my top five favorite parts.
1. Career Coach Maggie Mistal’s Inspiring Speech
The trip kicked off with a dinner at Caroline’s and a motivational presentation from Career Coach Maggie Mistal. Aside from being hilarious and fun, Maggie offered incredibly helpful and practical career tips and even gave students the chance to practice their ‘elevator speeches.’ Best tip of the night? Set up Google Alerts to track the companies that you’re most interested in working for so you can stay up to date on their news and know when to email your contacts there.
2. Sharp Entertainment
Jake Haelen, SOC alum and associate producer gave us SUCH a great tour of Sharp Entertainment. A TV production company, Sharp creates programs for VH1, Animal Planet, TLC and other major networks. With a laid-back company culture and young, talented staff, Sharp seemed like a very cool place to work. We got to see clips of their newest shows and meet some of their top executive producers.
3. Meeting with Laura Brounstein, Entertainment Director of Self Magazine
As a long-time Vanity Fair fan, the Condé Nast site visit was by far one of my favorites. We got the chance to sit down with Laura Brounstein, Self Magazine’s Entertainment Director. She gave us the inside scoop on how she picks Self’s cover girls and told us all about her career path. With a contagious personality and lots of jokes, Laura gave quite the presentation and even asked us about which stars we thought would make good cover choices. As a social media devotee, I loved hearing how a star’s social media following and engagement plays a huge role in whether or not they would make a good cover choice.
4. Presentation from Kim Rappaport, Senior Director, Business & Legal Affairs, at Sony Music
“I’m a lawyer, so all you marketing majors will probably stop listening now.”
My favorite presentation at Sony was from Kim Rappaport, AU Alumnus and the Senior Director for Business and Legal Affairs at Sony Music. With an arts degree, training as a graphic artist and a fun persona, Kim explained the significance of having different types of career experiences and explained how her wide skillset has helped her succeed in the entertainment industry. She spoke about the challenges she has faced as a female in her industry and stressed how important it to stick to your morals.
5. Nickelodeon, A Dream Come True
Hey Arnold, Slime Time Live, All That. Like most people in this generation, I grew up with Nickelodeon’s iconic and quirky shows. So, a visit inside the building where these programs are created was huge. As if their office space wasn’t incredible enough, the Nickelodeon team gave our group tasty snacks and a fun, fast paced presentation. We heard from people in social media, product design, marketing and HR. Considering how innovative, unique and entertaining their programming is, it came as no surprise that their staff was equally as infectious.