Amanda Kossits doesn’t understand how so many people can hate on her field of work, and yet be so completely immersed in it at the same time.
“Over history, things that people remember most about different civilizations, different people, moments in time, is mostly the art,” Kossits said. “The writings, the paintings, the music, anything — it’s always the art.”
The 24-year-old resident of the South Shore of Montreal graduated from Concordia University in 2015. With her communications degree in hand and the world at her feet, she set out to find work in a profession known for being a hard place to find work.
“I was always pretty good at school I guess, and everyone was always hoping I’d go into the medical field or a field where you’ll get that job that pays well,” she said.
Throughout high school, Kossits always had a camera in hand and regularly edited the group projects. Yet, she followed the suggestions of those around her and applied for a medical program after graduation.
“It was just funny because I didn’t get accepted into health science and my second choice was communications. I think that the world sometimes works in funny ways and a rejection might actually be the best thing that could happen to you,” Kossits said.
Unfortunately, the health science rejection was not the only rejection she faced. Many of the job openings in communications required an individual to have more than five years of work experience, which she did not have so soon after graduating. She felt rejected before she could even apply for these positions.
Looking back on her time at Concordia, Kossits wishes she had known the importance of doing internships throughout college. A lot of what she learned while getting her degree was theory, not the real-world, hands-on experience that you get from internships.
Luckily, Kossits held on to the connections she had made with other people in her program. These connections allowed her to get an internship at Rebl House Media, an up-and-coming video production company that was founded by two girls who Kossits went to school with.
A couple of months into her internship, she was hired full-time by Rebl, where she now assists in every single aspect of video production.
“We’re a new model of business. We take care of production from start to end, whereas the typical way of doing things would be to have a production house who then hires freelance people to get the job done,” Kossits explained. “Everyone at Rebl can shoot and edit. We all help with the planning and we all help with the brainstorming. The crew can do the entire aspect of the production instead of hiring outside people.”
Although some may not even consider communications when they think about potential careers, Kossits takes great pride in her work and realizes the importance of what she does on a day-to-day basis.
“At the end of the day everyone goes home and watches TV or they go to see a movie,” she said. “People are so immersed in the arts, more than any other field, I think.”