From Left to Right: Ed Easton Jr, Tiamari Whitted, Karina Drake, Nate Derosena, Rashiek Smart, Jasmin A. Ortiz, and Professor Joseph Manfredi
During his years at SUNY OW, Ed Easton knew that he always want to pursue a career in the media. Although Easton had written for The Catalyst and was a program director at OWWR, he wasn’t sure on whether he was doing the right thing that would lead to his career. OWWR was where Easton was taught by Joseph Manfredi, Media & Communications Lecturer and OWWR, Old Westbury Web Radio, Station Manager, about the business aspect and behind the scenes of radio. “I knew if I understood that it would be easier and make myself more marketable in terms of getting a job,” said Easton. Speaking at the Fifth Annual Media Talks Symposium in sponsored by Old Westbury Web Radio (OWWR) and the Office of Career Planning and Development on April 10th, Easton further discussed jobs that were offered to him. He shared his advice to the Recital Hall audience about the importance of being known in the industry: “People are not just going to walk up to you and offer you full time. You can just be doing a great job, keep your head down, doing your job. That don’t always work in this type of industry, you have to let yourself be known. People have to know who you are. You gotta make an impact.” Easton shared his story about interning at Sports Net New York Television, XM Satellite Radio, and 1010 Wins Radio (in where he is currently employed).
The panel also included five other alumni who are working in the media field: Jazmine A. Ortiz, Nate Derosena, Tiamari Whitted, Rashiek Smart, and current student Karina Drake, who is expecting to graduate in May 2019. The purpose of the event was particularly for those who are Media & Communica- tion majors about pursuing careers in the media industry.
Nate Derosena, a writer from Slam Magazine and a SUNY OW 2013 graduate always had a passion for writing, besides being involved in the basketball team. His passion led him to become a sports editor for The Catalyst. He was well acquainted with the sports depart- ment and enjoyed writing sports news. Although his first job outside of SUNY OW wasn’t media related, he never took his eye off of writing. Eventually, he saw an advertisement for an online sports newsite for a writing job. He earned the job as a sports writer and wrote and published many articles. Derosena took on many sports writing jobs. While working at a shoe store, he was intro- duced to an assistant editor at Slam Magazine by his coworker. After viewing his published works, the assistant editor offered him a position.
Tiamari Whitted, another OW graduate, is a digital ad sales assistant at Entertainment Studios. She started off in her media career interning at Power 105.1 during the summer of 2008. Whit- ted then transitioned to an intern at Def Jam. It was during the time when the Great Recession and she wasn’t offered a job. She struggled searching for media jobs while still going to school to pursue her master’s degree in media. She got her first media job in 2017 when she was a freelance writer at Black Enterprise Magazine. She saw a job opportunity at Entertainment Studios on LinkedIn and applied where she was hired.
Rashiek Smart, an executive assis- tant at New York Women in Film and Communication, first started gaining experience in media by becoming a news director of OWWR and reporter for OWTV. After graduating in 2013, she interned at ABC Television as a Produc- tion Assistant for a segment called Here and Now. She then became a video journalist for MyLongIslandTV for four years. Smart wanted to learn about the corporation side of entertainment which led her to her current job as an executive assistant at New York Women in Film and Communication. Smart explained her duties in her job which is to recruit and train interns, working with the executive director, coordinate grants and events, and help out with other departments.
Jazmine A. Ortiz, a style/living editor of BET waited to get involved in media during her later years in college in which she later regretted. Before her graduation from OW in 2013, she start- ed searching for internships through Career Fairs. She met an HR representative for BET and earned an internship there in the summer. The internship eventually turned into a job and she earned herself editing positions that lead to being a style/living editor.
Karina Drake, a current student at SUNY OW, was a former production director for OWWR. Last semester, Drake applied for many internships and never heard back from any of them. Her frustration led to her deciding to work on her cover letter and resume. In December, she received an internship offer from Sirius XM Satellite Radio where she is currently interning. She used her experience from OWWR to help her succeed in her internship. Her goal is to get involved in the production aspect of Sirius XM. Drake discussed the importance of being involved in the school’s media as early as possible and how she was able to balance school, her internship, and her job.
Manfredi stressed the importance of job seekers being adaptable in their skills to the media industry which is constantly changing, the importance of being involved in internships, of joining college media early, and of not giving up dreams of finally working in the media.
