Career Wave brings Hollywood network to Tulane students

Jack+Sussman%2C+a+CBS+executive+and+Tulane+parent%2C+presents+at+the+2014+Tulane+to+Hollywood+career+panel.+The+Career+Wave-sponsored+event+has+been+a+success+in+the+past+and+will+feature+a+number+of+panelists+this+Friday.

Courtesy of the School of Liberal Arts

Jack Sussman, a CBS executive and Tulane parent, presents at the 2014 Tulane to Hollywood career panel. The Career Wave-sponsored event has been a success in the past and will feature a number of panelists this Friday.

Lights, camera, action. Career Wave’s annual Tulane to Hollywood event takes the stage Friday at 1:30 p.m. in Dixon Hall.

The panel event features Tulane alumni and parents successful in the entertainment industry, including creator and executive producer of  “Entourage” Doug Ellin; Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, Nina Rosenstein, the executive vice president of HBO programming; Rick Roskin,Creative Artists Agency Co-Head of Contemporary Music, and others.

The panel serves as a way for Tulane students to learn from professionals who have achieved varied levels of success in their careers and the path they followed to achieve it. Students get the opportunity to acquire more information about breaking into and flourishing in the entertainment industry.

“This particular event is an opportunity for us to focus on a specific industry and highlight the executives we have within the industry who are related to Tulane, whether being a parent or an alum,” Career Wave Programming Director Byron Kantrow said. “And [it’s] also an opportunity to ask questions that are specific to where they are in their career development process.”

Though they encourage all students to attend, those with a particular interest in a career in entertainment tend to find the Tulane to Hollywood panel particularly useful. For Brennan O’Donnell, a junior studying digital media production and marketing, this year’s Tulane to Hollywood panel will give him some insight into how he can pursue television writing.

“I would mainly hope to just hear more about the industry and just listen to the stories that the people on the panel have to talk about,” O’Donnell said. “I went my freshman year and it was just really cool hearing people in all different sectors working in television, working in film, working in the music industry just talk about how they got to where they are now and what they’d recommend. I’m always open to hearing tips on how to get your foot into the industry.”

This marks the fourth Tulane to Hollywood event under Career Wave. Not only do the panelists change every year, but according to Kantrow, so does the audience they attract. The event emphasizes its universal appeal across cohorts and schools, and has seen a growth in underclassmen participation. The informational session offers useful takeaways for freshman and seniors alike.

“We really made it a focus to market this as not a job fair or anything within specific recruiting components, but a way for people to take wherever they are in their career development process, whether they’re a freshman trying to figure out what to study… or a senior who’s decided this is where they want to be and that’s why they want to hear Rick Roskin,” Kantrow said.

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