As Duke continues placing increased emphasis on preparing students for futures in the arts, the expansiveness and reach of its programming has followed suit.
This year, the Duke Entertainment Media and Arts Network weekend saw significant growth from past years, as organizers sought to both reach students interested in arts-related careers and impact perceptions of the arts community at Duke.
The annual DEMAN weekend—which began Nov. 7—provided undergraduates with the opportunity to learn more about possible careers in arts, media and entertainment by connecting with alumni already established in these fields.
Coordinators of the event—which has grown in recent years—changed both their campaigning strategies, the various events and the alumni invited, all in hopes to increase attendance said Scott Lindroth, vice provost for the Arts. These changes paid dividends this year, with 302 students and 70 alumni registered for a jam-packed weekend of events.
“This [large attendance] is not something that is necessarily reflected at normal career fairs, so it’s inspiring for students to see Duke alumni who have had success in these fields,” Lindroth said.
For this year’s DEMAN weekend, coordinators looked for new ways to improve the events and make them appealing to students. Lindroth said the main goal was to engage students by taking feedback from previous years and tweaking the events and programs over the weekend. Communication was a big change, as DEMAN sought out different ways to reach out to interested students—including Facebook campaigns and East Campus flyering.
Coordinators placed emphasis on maintaining a balance between older and younger alumni, especially in representing all aspects of a career in arts and entertainment from the beginning to the end.
“It’s helpful for students to see people early on in their career as well as those further along who are enjoying success,” Lindroth said.
Ross Wade, the arts-focused assistant director of the Career Center, said that a balanced mix of new and experienced alumni helped give students a realistic view of careers in arts. Alumni described their overall experiences in pursuing arts and entertainment at a university like Duke, contrasting them with more-popular fields such as management consulting or medicine. Alumni also dispelled many myths about the job search and emphasized that there was much room for growth in their respective fields.
This annual event, featuring movie screenings and networking events, succeeded in inspiring students to follow their passions for entertainment and media through keynote speeches and department workshops, Wade said.
“DEMAN Weekend was a great success,” Wade said. “The Alumni Association in conjunction with Duke Arts and Amy Unell did an outstanding job of recruiting alums to share their experiences and wisdom with students.”
Events included a keynote address by cinematographer Robert Yeoman, a screening of Yeoman’s movie Moonrise Kingdom and departmental workshops run by alumni in the Arts of the Moving Image department and the Center for Documentary Studies.
Unell, DEMAN organizer and an alumna in residence at the Career Center, said that all of the events were well attended.
“There were over 250 student attendees at more than a dozen of the informal, alumni-led workshops which helped students explore the breadth of opportunities and examples of pathways in the arts,” she said.
Junior Catherine White, who flew in from an internship with MSNBC specifically for DEMAN weekend, said that the various panels were extremely insightful.
“I especially enjoyed ‘Charting Your Own Path: How to Build a Career in Film and Storytelling,’” said White, “Courtney Spence, founder of Students of the World, inspired me to take my passion for storytelling and activism further.”
Senior Megan Lax said she empathized with Duke alumni who were initially afraid to stray from the “typical Duke path.”
“They seemed so, so happy with their decision to enter the industry and it made me feel a lot better about taking that step after I graduate,” she said.
The alumni involved with DEMAN weekend were equally thrilled with the results. Keely MacDonald, Trinity ’12 and showrunner’s assistant for FOX’s “Sleepy Hollow,” said she loved encouraging students to follow what they are truly passionate about and thought the events were successful.
“We got a lot of really insightful questions, many follow-up emails, and I saw many enthusiastic undergrads and grad students who can and will be part of this next Hollywood generation,” she said.
Jenna Gates, Trinity ’12 and an agent trainee at the United Talent Agency who helped with the workshop “Navigating Hollywood 101,” said that she has already seen improvement in arts opportunities at Duke.
“Working in entertainment was somewhat unheard of while I was at Duke, and it’s incredibly refreshing to come back two years after graduating and see how much the interest in and recognition of the industry has grown,” she said.
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