Media professionals available at Career Fair for first time

A new section at the Career and Summer Opportunities Fair Thursday will attract students interested in the arts and media.

The section in Wilson Gym, called “Media-ville,” will have representatives from 14 media companies—including BuzzFeed, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”, ESPN and Nickelodeon—participating in Skype sessions with students from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to give informal advice on internship and job opportunities.

Amy Unell, a former producer for NBC’s “Today Show” who currently works with the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts to promote initiatives in arts education at Duke, organized the event in collaboration with senior Estlin Haiss, Teri Mills and Anne Lyford at the Career Center, the Office of Information Technology and Scott Lindroth at Duke Arts.

Unell—who also works with students interested in arts and media at the Career Center—wrote in an email that the number of Duke students interested in creative professions has been growing at “an exciting pace.” She added that she hopes Media-ville will be the beginning of an increased presence for media and arts recruiters at Duke career fairs.

Laura Valk, Trinity ’13, who currently works as a production associate for “Saturday Night Live,” said the media industry was underrepresented at Duke during her time on campus—noting that many alumni at recruiting events were focused on industries like banking and consulting. Valk said that through Unell, she connected with people in the television industry and learned about the variety of jobs available in television. She began working at SNL as a writer’s assistant in September 2013.

“I’ve always been interested in connecting with other media-minded Dukies, and I’m really excited about the notion of building a strong media network at Duke,” Valk said.

Christina Lan, Trinity ’15, who is now a staff writer at BuzzFeed, said she was excited about the growing media presence at Duke as well, noting that much of her networking experience at Duke was done informally.

She added that students should not be intimidated by the idea of talking to a working professional, explaining that much of her focus in Skype sessions with students will be on subjects like the work environment at BuzzFeed.

“I’ll tell them about things like the cardboard cutouts of celebrities we have in the office or the massive bag of candy,” she said. “Everyone is hilarious and quirky, and it’s an environment where you can learn so much, where you can feed off the energy.”

The one-on-one informal Skype sessions with employers will occur on iPads that will be provided to students and will be first come, first serve. The event is open to all Duke students. A full list of the representatives who will Skype in can be found on Media-ville’s Facebook page.