Road Trips are perhaps one of the most unique experiences offered by the iSchool. They provide the opportunity for students to visit cities such as Boston, Rochester, and New York City, to tour industry heavyweights such as ESPN, NBC, or Condé Nast. These experiences allow students to home in on their career of choice as well as facilitating networking with both employees and Syracuse alumni.
Road Trip Visits to Media & Entertainment Companies
Media was the concentration of this year’s New York City trip. Each company we visited demonstrated the industry’s increasing reliance on technology. All companies utilized technology in a different way.
The offices at Condé Nast
For those interested in journalism, CNN and Condé Nast were likely the highlights of the visit. We got a glimpse of how IT functions as a backbone for modern journalism. CNN Tech’s previewed their new AR (augmented reality) and 360 video projects. ESPN and HBO Showtime discussed the future of sports and entertainment media in a world where cable cutting is becoming increasingly common.
Momentum introduced us to agency marketing and walked us through the technical behind-the-scenes of putting on public relations events while demonstrating IT’s role within the creative realm. Panoply offered podcast enthusiasts the ability to see how a podcasting platform exists, and the decision making to create a design. At CBS, Adam London walked us through his unusual career path and explained that finding out that a job isn’t right is the only way to find the right job.
Finally, NBC and Syfy walked us through their transformation from network to media platform and the technological experiments that keep them on the cutting edge.
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A Valuable Experience for Everyone
Although each of these visits fell under the umbrella of media, a stop for everyone existed. Many students seemed excited at the prospect of future employment at their preferred organization.
On the first evening, we stopped at Two Door Tavern to enjoy dinner with local Syracuse Alumni. Every alumnus was happy to meet the next generation of iSchoolers and offer their experience and networking capabilities.
Over the course of two hours, I talked about consulting with Isaac Clark (’17), hockey with Andy Pregler (’15). Additionally, I discussed Python coding with Jeff Arnold (’98). The ability to meet face-to-face with iSchool alumni brings the abstract idea of finding a job into a reality. This facilitates the unique ability to network and learn, only provided by the iSchool.
