On the evening of September 14, while all the other RWC students were still enjoying the last days of their summer vacation, students newly entering or returning to the eMedia Program were gearing up for the annual orientation/reception.New students, alumni, faculty, staff, family and friends were served food and drinks, and there were door prizes of donated textbooks.
At the orientation, freshmen were given information on what to expect and on what is expected of them for the new school year.
Michael Sanders, eMedia Program Director, introduced the staff, reading off how long each professor has been at RWC and their long list of accomplishments. He also introduced the panel for the evening.
According to Lou Olenick of the eMedia Program, the panel included six speakers, three alumni and three current students, who talk about how they became successful and other aspects of being e-media students.
One of the panel members had a bachelor’s degree and came back to brush up on his skills, but realized the potential of other areas in eMedia. Others on the panel discussed the value of networking, different opportunities, and the different successes they have had since starting or graduating from the program.
During the Q&A portion of the evening, the faculty and staff found it a better idea to leave the room and let the new students and alumni speak freely. Without the watchful eye of a future professor, there was no need for censorship and the students could candidly speak and ask questions about what they were in for once classes started.
“We said we were going to ask what they talked about in there,” joked Olenick, “but we’ve been so busy that we never got around to it.”
Once the faculty returned to the room, a showcase of the 2006-2007 students’ work was presented. Since there was no forum to show work in the college-wide award ceremony in May earlier this year, faculty took the time to show it to the new students, giving the freshmen a good idea of the kind of work they might be doing, and also of the high-caliber work that is expected.
Towards the end of the night, the attendees filed down to the lobby to a setup of past students’ award-winning work. At each console around the lobby there was a different person’s art, music, or film, and some of the creators of this art were on hand to field any questions.
According to Olenick, these artists must go through a rigorous process in order to win what is called the “Director’s Award”: “They have to present a proposal, it has to be approved, and then they have about a quarter to complete it. Then they present it to a panel of professionals, some within the department and some outside of it. [Each student] has 15 minutes to show or play a segment, and then they have to answer questions,” Olenick said.
The students even go as far as creating a budget, explaining what each person’s job was and how long it took while collaborating with them. Five awards are presented among all the students; former student Jannis Schelenz was last year’s first place winner with his narrative video called “Coulrophobia,” which is the fear of clowns.