Category: Fairfield University

These are some of the various projects and organizations I contributed to during my time at Fairfield University.

Convergence: Careers in Media Night

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Fairfield University student Natasha Angelovich ’15 is jobless and afraid.

However, she is not alone, as several students are about to graduate from Fairfield University this year without a job. And, like Angelovich, many students are nervous and looking for any help they can get.

Perhaps this is why several students were in attendance at the Convergence: Careers in Media Night networking event that was held in the Kelly Center this past Thursday evening. Students of from all classes attended in hopes that they would have an opportunity to network with successful Fairfield alumni and gather some useful tips to help with the job hunt.

Angelovich, who is a Communications major graduating in May, said, “I’m in the middle of the job search now, so I figured that coming to this event might help with the process.”

Natash Angelovish '15, is a Communications major at Fairfield University who is actively trying to find a job.

Natash Angelovish ’15, is a Communications major at Fairfield University actively trying to find a job.

The networking event, which was inspired by a similar event held last year, was co-sponsored by the Career Planning Center and the College of Arts and Sciences to provide students interested in media-related careers the opportunity to talk to former students, as well as learn more about the ever-evolving industry.

The event was broken into two parts: the first part featured a panel discussion with ten distinguished Fairfield alumni and the second part featured a small-group networking portion.

During the panel discussion held in the Kelly Center Presentation Room, alumni introduced themselves and made a point to talk about how they landed their first job after graduating from Fairfield. Every alumnus featured had graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences with majors including but not limited to English, Communications and Film, Television & Media Arts.

Caitlyn Livingston '11 talks with undergraduate students about her experiences working for NBC Universal Inc.

Caitlyn Livingston ’11 talks with undergraduate students about her experiences working for NBC Universal Inc.

From there, the event moved into the lobby of the Kelly Center so that students would have an opportunity to speak with alumni one-on-one. Each alumnus sat at a large round table while the group of students, which was comprised of roughly 40 undergraduates, broke into smaller groups and visited each table.

Angelovich, who hopes to pursue a career in event planning, particularly hit it off with Wanda Szarek ’09, who works as a Senior Integrated Producer at Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners, specifically on traditional and digital marketing campaigns for BMW. 

“That’s something I could see myself doing,” Angelovich said with a smile. 

According to administrators, even though far fewer students attended the event than was originally anticipated, they plan on hosting the event again next spring.

The Fairfield University alumni who were invited to speak at the Convergence: Careers in Media Night event.

Pamela Antonacchio ’07
Caitlyn Livingston ’11
Brooke Madden ’09
Melody Serafino ’05
Frank Washkuch ’02
Rachel Reese ’04
Jennifer Pierce ’03
Vincent Ferrer ’12
Wanda Szarek ’11
Alexandria Hein ’11

All alumni pictures were taken from their personal, public websites or LinkedIn profiles.  

TV Show of the Week: Peaky Blinders

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peaky blinders

This week’s TV Show of the Week is a BBC Original called Peaky Blinders. The show premiered in September of 2013, but has started gaining momentum and popularity by the end of the 2014.

What it’s about: The show takes place in post World War I Birmingham, which is a tough industrial city in England. The show follows one family, The Shelby’s, whose members comprise a notorious gang that goes go by the name The Peaky Blinders. Basically the show follows their attempts to gain financial and social power within the city by way of becoming legal bookkeepers. That said, the ways in which they go about this rise to power are very rarely legal and for that, incredibly entertaining.

This show might remind you of: Boardwalk Empire, The Dark Knight

Why you should get into it:

It’s a really well done period piece: the clothes, the haircuts and the props are all on point.
The show is based off of a real story. Google it.
The seasons are totally manageable. There are only 6, hour-length episodes per season, and there are only 2 seasons (the third comes out this fall).
The soundtrack is amazing. The show features modern music even though it takes place in a different time period. (Picture this: a gang of attractive British guys who have just finished fighting in an epic street fight are rounding the corner in slow motion as “Do I Wanna Know?” by the Arctic Monkeys is blasting in the background.)
Girls and guys alike will love it. There’s something for everybody.

Where you can watch it: Netflix

This article was originally published on Her Campus Fairfield‘s website on March 2nd, 2015. 

Fairfield blog, Her Campus, gains international recognition

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This article was written by Monet Monterosso and was featured in The Fairfield Mirror on February 16th, 2015.

http://fairfieldmirror.com/the-vine/fairfield-blog-campus-gains-international-recognition-2/

hcfu

“On Feb. 4 in the Aloysius P. Kelley Center, Her Campus celebrated their first birthday by hosting a pink party with both Brittany Lewis (Director of Community Development & Strategic Programming) and Windsor Hanger Western (Co-founder, President & Publisher) as special guest speakers.

Her Campus is a digital media magazine that is produced by women for college-age women. The issue is put out online five days a week, and its purpose is to both inform and entertain. Her Campus Fairfield is led by Amanda McKelvey ‘15 and Danielle Tullo ‘15. Both Campus Correspondents are truly responsible for Her Campus’ successful inaugural year. A year ago, they both felt that Fairfield was missing something in the digital media field and so they brought Her Campus to Fairfield with help from Stephanie Gallo, associate director of the Career Planning Center and acting staff advisor.

“I’m here to guide them, but really these two are independent and so strong just on their own,” said Gallo on the passion of the Her Campus team.

Her Campus immediately grew into something much bigger than Fairfield. Since the Internet is such a simple tool to reach out to many people, that is exactly what it did.

McKelvey felt that “Her Campus’ success couldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for our readers. We used to get 3,300 views and now we get over 75,000 views because now friends of friends are reading it from all over the world and we have to thank them for the success we’ve achieved in this one year.”

Before the celebration of their first birthday, both Hanger Western and Lewis spoke about their own personal experience with Her Campus and their strength as a woman. The talk given by the two speakers had a big impact on the Her Campus team, both professionally and emotionally.

“I really liked how they touched on the topics of resumes and cover letters. As a freshman we don’t know a lot about it. They mentioned great tips and advice for the future,” said Adelyn Galang ‘18.

In addition to professional advice, the speakers also increased the morale of the group, leaving many members feeling empowered after listening to Lewis and Hanger Western speak.

“It’s really important for college women in this industry to hear from women who came from the ground up. Being a freshman it’s so nice to hear from such influential women,” said Caroline Metcalf-Vera ‘18.

“I enjoyed how they both focused on women empowerment. We need to be inspired,” added Katherine Duncan ‘18.

Both speakers continually praised what the progress Her Campus has made at Fairfield in just one year. Fairfield is among 13 schools internationally recognized as a Pink Chapter, which is the highest level attainable. This feat truly impressed the Her Campus representatives.

Additionally, Her Campus Fairfield has started a new program with Lord & Taylor, which allows hands-on experience in career paths that are of interest to the Her Campus team.

The Lord & Taylor program is a collaboration between Her Campus and Lord & Taylor. The point of this program is to promote Lord and Taylor for the collegiettes on campus all over. The reason why Lord & Taylor was chosen for this program is because this department store gives power to women being the first department store to ever name a woman as president.

“I was apart of the Lord & Taylor new program that we have here and it’s a great hands on program starting with a really good start with getting involved. It’s also really nice to work with a committed and well rounded team,” said Rachel Anderson ‘18.

The Her Campus team ended their celebration with a “Happy Birthday and Thank you” toast, cupcakes, a group selfie and lots of mingling. With the celebration at the back of their heads, the Her Campus Correspondents are now left with the hard decision of who to pass the torch to after graduation to continue the chapter’s success.

“I need someone that will take care of it and I want to see it grow. Her Campus is about having an outlet to give their passion to for the love of reading and writing it,” said McKelvey.

Senior Danielle Tullo agreed with McKelvey, and stressed the opportunity Her Campus gives to Fairfield women: “Through it all, [Her Campus’] goal of giving women on Fairfield’s campus the opportunity to write has been fulfilled with the success of allowing them to get into a program that is focused on the concept that ‘You make dreams happen for yourself.’”