CenterforCareerDevelopment HostsAMediaNetworkingNight

Brianna

Coppola

Asst. Features Editor

The Manhattan College Center for Career Development hosted a media networking event in Kelly Commons on Thursday April 13. The event allowed students, alumni and faculty to engage in discussions about careers in communication and make connections within the industry.

The specific areas of the industry which were represented at the event included journalism, public relations, production and advertising. The alumni and industry workers offered career advice and shared stories of their own career experiences.

Sile Molony, Editor-in-Chief of Norwood News, attended with copies of the publication in hand. Moloney spoke with students and shared what it’s like working at a local newspaper.

“In terms of the company culture, I would say that it’s highly focused on community based reporting,” Moloney said. “Our primary purpose is to ensure that the voices of the community are reflected in the newspaper to keep it hyperlocal.”

She also described how the work culture can be a bit hectic due to the fact that she is the only full time employee.

Moloney shared that the publication is always looking for interns and freelancers to contribute to the paper.

“We rely a lot on interns because, like I said, I’m the only full time member of staff right now,” Moloney said. “We do have freelancers who write for us or take photographs, but yes we rely a lot on interns in the spring, summer and fall.”

Moloney also shared how important it is to make connections and build contacts and relationships with those you work with.

Erin Gambolati, Group Director at Crossmedia USA, was also in attendance at the event.. Her duties include advertising and leading clients in financial services and retail. Gambolati spoke highly of her company and described her work environment as respectful and capable of understanding the needs of all employees.

“I love my work culture,” Gambolati said. “It’s very much where we’re people first. We’re like humans, right? You’re going to have doctors appointments and things like that.

They don’t expect you to be on like 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So I feel like we’re so respective of that.”

Gambolati emphasized that students should be open minded and try everything because you will never know whether or not you like something.

“I like the idea of keeping things open, open for opportunities, open to talking to people,” Gambolati said. “I didn’t even know what an advertising agency did until I started working at one.”

She also emphasized on reaching out to as many people as possible, being persistent and always asking questions.

Samantha Gaddy, an MC alum, is a post-production coordinator at CBS Sports. Gaddy received the job while still in school at MC, after starting out as an administrative assistant.

“What I do is I am scheduling the editors to edit the content that we are going to put out on the air,” Gaddy said.

Gaddy shared her career experiences with students attending the event, discussing what a typical day in the life looks like working at CBS Sports.

“It’s pretty casual actually, you know, for such a corporation, right?” Gaddy said. “You know, we strive to do the best because, you know, we’re putting on things like March Madness and the Masters. Next year, we’re putting on the Super Bowl. So yeah, I mean we have some big names that we have to keep the standard. So that’s what we strive to do on a day to day basis, but at the same time, it’s almost like, everyone is just chilling.”

Gaddy is very passionate about her job and loves the field she works in and the company she works for. CBS Sports has met many of Gaddy’s needs and has been nothing but respectful and welcoming to her and many other employees.

Gaddy emphasized the importance of making connections and building relationships when searching for job opportunities.

The event was an encouraging experience for students to engage with industry professionals.