About six weeks ago now, I went on a very exciting trip to New York City! I have yet to get my life together, so now I am sharing the wonderful details of this trip. I hope you enjoy :)
It all started in December when an email was sent out to Emerson grad students about this program that they do every year: Graduate Experience New York. Students from three of the ten grad programs have the opportunity to visit major companies in their field in one day. Registration was $25, and we were basically on our own as far as travel, lodging and other expenses. At first I wasn't too interested because I wanted to see more details, but by January I decided to take a leap of faith and register. I had my travel arrangements made, booked a hotel that set a block for Emerson students, packed my bag, and was ready to go when I received an email saying the trip was cancelled. I was sad, but the trip was the second Friday in February, and if anyone remembers that far, a blizzard was coming to New England with a vengeance.
Nemo came and went, and the trip was rescheduled for Good Friday. Thankfully, no major storms were headed our way. I took the bus down with a fellow classmate and stayed with another classmate of ours. We made a Target run, bought ice cream, and watched Scandal in HD. 'Twas a great night.
Friday morning started off with a slightly rushed pace trying to get to the commuter rail. It was pretty neat being dressed up heading down to Manhattan. It was the dream of many, I would suppose. After some confusion with some MTA trains, we made it to our first company very close to on time. It was a miracle.
Our first company was Random House. They are THE book publisher in North America, and maybe even the world. Some of the biggest classics have been published by this company. We met in the Dr. Seuss room in their building, which says more than enough. RH was definitely ready for us, since they had a presentation for us and a panel of employees including two Emerson alums that were able to answer questions. I was very enamored by the world of books though I would like focus more on magazines. The first hour went by too quickly.
Off we went afterward to Hearst, the obscurely-shaped diamond like building in NYC's skyline. Architecturally, the Hearst building was very impressive. We were brought into a dimmed conference room, the natural light of the gorgeous sunny day breaking through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Waiting for us were two employees: one from Seventeen and another from Esquire. They told us about their positions and how they got to where they are today. Though it was nice to hear about all that, I would have rather heard some more about Hearst as a company itself, seeing as how they are celebrating 125 years of publishing magazines and such. The visit was nice nonetheless.
After a stop at Starbucks, a group of us walked south, passing Broadway, The Late Show studio, and MoMA along the way. Company number three was HarperCollins, my favorite of them all. We were welcomed to free books on the table and a digital welcome sign. I'm not sure I remember what was being said because I was so impressed by the free books. I did learn the Zondervan, a major Christian publisher, is part of the HC family. Good to know.
Last but not least was the company I was most anticipating: Conde Nast. Conde Nast publishes Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair, among other great publications. I could not wait to see what they would tell us. I was slightly discouraged to learn that they try to reach out to their interns when it comes to hiring. Kinda hard to accomplish when you're already a graduate student hoping to work for them one day. They were very hospitable, though. The host wanted to answer as much as possible while we were there; I think we were there for two hours instead of one.
Thirty minutes and muddling through Times Square later, all of the participating students came together for a reception with a few Emerson alums. There weren't too many doing publishing, but I met one woman: Georgette Pierre *waves hi if you see this*. She really talked to everyone and gave out some great advice for how to make the most of our time right now. We may be graduate school, but we also have the chance to work on personal projects. That's you get your name out in this business, and this is why I'm going to try my best to create more posts.
The night ended with a trip to Turntable, a restaurant a block away from the Empire State Building. Three words: Korean fried chicken. You should go try it. It will change your life.
Ever since my trip, I have thought more about moving there to pursue some publishing opportunities. Most of the companies I would like to work for are in the Big Apple, so we shall see. In the meantime, I look forward to visiting the city again as a tourist-like person.
Until words meet a screen again,
Drika
No comments:
Post a Comment