Entertainment options abound for IU students

After being involved in the business school curriculum for some time, junior Eddie Anderson has been exposed to the real options that are offered to students at the Kelley School of Business. Lucrative job opportunities with companies from Phillip Morris Companies Inc. to Proctor & Gamble are all available to them. But for Anderson, a once aspiring Broadway actor, this wasn't what he wanted.\n"I was seeing the options that were available to me, but it depressed the hell out of me to think about selling mayonnaise or cigarettes for a living," he said.\nAs fate would have it, Anderson stumbled upon a copy of the Tenth Street Times that he saw lying on the ground while storming home after a heated argument with one of his business professors. One particular headline jumped out at him: "New Entrepreneur's Club."\nFrustrated with the lack of opportunities for students to learn about entertainment careers, he realized he would have to start what he was looking for. Ultimately, this little brush with fate created the concept for the Business Careers in Entertainment Club.\nWhile attending a Union Board-sponsored lecture for people interested in careers in the arts, Anderson met sophomore Virginia Vasquez. He told her about his idea and hope for the club and she told him that she wanted to be involved. She assumed the role of vice president and with that came the responsibilities of sharing presidential duties, formulating board meeting agendas, helping to write the constitution and acting as an advisor. \nThis semester the BCEC started taking members on eight different committees representing all aspects of the entertainment industry: television, music, film, sports, gaming, publishing, theater and radio. The club's goal is "to provide internships, job opportunities, hands-on-experience, and career information to undergraduate students interested in the business end of the entertainment industry," according to their promotional pamphlets.\nThere are about 100 active members, but students from any major who are interested can join the club at any time. All one has to do is attend any committee meeting and speak with the respective leader. Starting Thursday, the BCEC's Web site, www.indiana.edu/~bcec, will be available and will provide contacts and general information about the club. There will also be another call-out meeting at the beginning of the spring semester.\nAnderson said there are a number of benefits that are involved in joining the club. \n"If the club brings a prominent speaker to campus, the public is welcome to come and listen to them speak," Anderson said. "But members have the option of maybe going out to dinner with them or getting the chance to spend more time with them."\nAside from getting to know guest speakers, members can also attend club trips. Each committee is responsible for doing research and finding internship opportunities related to their committee's field. These are all posted to the BCEC Web site and provide a valuable wealth of information about various major companies within the entertainment industry. Non-members can also access the site, but not all of the information. \nVasquez said it helps students build their contacts within the entertainment industry and exposes it to them firsthand.\n"It's a great learning experience that allows students to bring their resumes to the attention of prime entertainment industry locations such as New York and L.A.," she said.\nA $20 club fee is all that is required to join. The fee goes toward any industry-related trips or other expenses the executive board or individual committee might want to make. Frequency of committee meetings are also decided by each individual committee and committee leader.\nSophomore Pete Bruton, co-director of the music committee, said they have weekly meetings discussing how they can work with local bands and venues to build a connection base and bring in bands that normally wouldn't come to IU. \n"We want to establish ourselves as the people to come to in Bloomington," Bruton said. "So we're going to keep working with artists who normally would not have a voice."\nAnderson said he agrees that enthusiasm and determination are main factors in the success of the club. \n"People in the entertainment industry love to find students from a Midwestern school that are passionate and willing enough to come from halfway across the nation to do these jobs," he said. \nAnderson added that when contacting companies as a representative of a professional business organization, they know that you are legitimately going to give something back to them. You provide them with students that have the passion and drive to work for them in the future.\nIn starting the club, its executive members hope to create a valuable resource for all students to come.\n"It's a really great feeling knowing that you're leaving a legacy behind at Indiana University that encompasses everything you love," Anderson said. "I eat, sleep, and breathe BCEC"