Business majors focus on entertainment in BCEC

Until two years ago, business majors with an interest in entertainment were unable to find a way to combine the two fields at IU. Senior Eddie Anderson, one of these students, found opportunity in what he saw as a flaw in the business school.\n"It came from the fact that I wanted to work in the entertainment industry," he said. "I was a business major who wanted to be a Broadway actor at one point in my life."\nNo one in the business school knew how to answer his questions about the entertainment industry and its relation to business.\n"I noticed that not only were there very little resources here (at IU), but they were also discouraged," he said.\nAnderson's initial thought of starting a business and entertainment-related club came out of frustration in bringing together his ideal major.\n"I really didn't want other students here at IU to have to go through what I went through ever again. I didn't want dreams to be discouraged at a professional university. I wanted them to be emphasized and encouraged realistically."\nAfter Anderson came to this realization, he spent all night coming up with a name for his new club. The next day he was the president, founder and sole member of the Business Careers in Entertainment Club.\nTwo years later, Anderson is still president of BCEC, but the club has built more of a foundation here at IU.\nAbout 100 active members now participate in the activities BCEC provides to business students looking for a more specific concentration on entertainment, contributing their own personal interests in the club.\n"Our mission is to provide internships, job opportunities, career information and hands-on experience to undergraduate students interested in the business end of the entertainment industry," Anderson said.\nBCEC is a resource to begin a dream, but also pushes members to find their own dreams.\n"It takes a lot of personal mission because this club is supposed to only serve as a guiding light -- something to give them focus and something to make them feel like they are not alone at this stage," Anderson said.\nUnlike most clubs, Anderson said BCEC puts each individual member's interests first.\n"Our club is completely and personally oriented. Meaning, if you join, our primary mission is to help you succeed," he said. "It grows as each member adds more, and more."\nThe club finds internships and information and builds connections with businesses in the entertainment industry across the nation. Sub-committees concentrate on more specific areas of interest. \nJunior Robb Rosenthal, vice president of the club, also found his niche in BCEC.\n"I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life -- I was a singer at the time," Rosenthal said. "I went to a meeting and it was professional and fun -- they were my kind of people."\nOnce Rosenthal joined, he soon became the vice president and now works to build and maintain contacts for current and future members. He helps keep things functioning on a daily basis.\nThe director of each committee in the club serves as a guide and expert to aid in the search for information or internships to benefit the success of the member.\n"It's (BCEC) divided into a hierarchy of committees. Each committee represents a different industry in the entertainment industry," Anderson said. \nThese areas include television, film, performing arts, gaming, publishing, music, radio and sports.\nOver winter break, 18 of the active members visited New York City on a four-day trip to visit with major businesses and speak to professionals in the industry. The focus of the trip was to build connections and seek information about the specific industry.\n"I knew it was going to be a big deal," said Rosenthal. "It was like having a 'mini-job.' We got a chance to be in a big place and see how much work is involved in the industry."\nFor Anderson, the objective while in New York was somewhat different.\n"We wanted to primarily represent IU, BCEC … and other members here," said Anderson. "We wanted to get as much out of it (the trip) as possible for the club and IU."\nWhile acting as ambassadors for BCEC and IU, the members visited ABC, NBC, CNN, the New York City Sports Commission, the minor league Staten Island Yankees, Brooklyn Cyclones and Octagon Worldwide.\nBCEC is actively searching for more members to contribute to their personal interests and provide growth to the club.\nRosenthal, who will become president of BCEC next year, hopes for further growth while he takes on a new position.\n"We've done so much with so little," Rosenthal said. "I hope to continue to keep up business connections and make the New York trip annual -- and of course, I hope to do half as much as Eddie (Anderson) has done, because if I do, I will consider it a success."\nAs Anderson prepares to graduate this spring, he still has the same vision as he had that night in 2002.\n"We want to help them get over the doubts and focus and set on the real-life dream. Instead of just being a starry-eyed dreamer, we want them to become an informed, passionate person," Anderson said. \nFor more information on BCEC, attend the next call-out meeting at 7 p.m., tomorrow at the Kelley School of Business, Room 219.\n--Contact copy chief Stacie Vasko at svasko@indiana.edu.