Club takes networking trips to NYC, LA

Members of the Business Careers in Entertainment Club rang in the New Year by taking trips to Los Angeles and New York City-- not to celebrate the end of 2006, but to network with potential employers in the entertainment industry.\nClub members who went to New York networked with representatives from companies such as Oxygen Television, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Time Inc. and Atlantic Records. Those on the Los Angeles trip met with representatives from the Donners' Company, Romar Entertainment, 2929 Entertainment and Broadcast Music Inc.. \nThis was the first time the club has made a networking trip to Los Angeles. Club president Ashley McPherson, a senior, said she made the necessary contacts in Los Angeles to merit the trip while she was there in the summer for an internship with MTV. \nMcPherson said both trips were successes.\n"Everyone got to do more of what they are interested in," McPherson said in an e-mail interview. "It was very (club) member focused."\nJunior Sean Esters, the club's vice president of publicity, spoke with a representative from Bad Boy Records while he was in New York with the club. He stressed the importance of networking in the entertainment industry.\n"The trip was designed for networking so that an internship or job opportunity would be more attainable," Esters said. "We get the opportunity to meet with company executives who may have the final say on if we get an internship or job."\nSenior Emily Finkelstein is the director of sports committee and director of the New York City trip. Like Esters, she believes the more networking experience students get, the better chances they have of landing an internship or even a job. \n"There's only so much we can do as individuals," Finkelstein said. "The amount of people we get in contact with now or later will always help us down the road." \nJunior Brian Binkley, who coordinated the Los Angeles networking trip, said the networking trip and his club membership has made a huge impact on his life.\n"I served overseas in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom with the Indiana Army National Guard, and this organization is the single greatest opportunity I've come into contact with since returning to the U.S," Binkley said.\nAfter the success of this year's trip, Finkelstein is already working on plans for next year's trip.\n"We plan on visiting some of the same companies (in both New York and Los Angeles) we have already established as well as adding new companies to the agenda next year," Finkelstein said. \nStudents interested in joining the club for the spring semester can go to the call-out meeting at 9 p.m. Jan. 29 in the Kelley School of Business, Room 219.