One of my favorite terms I have ever heard is “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” This is one of the most true statements there are. If you enjoy your job, you will obviously face difficulties and frustration but since you love it, it makes it much easier to get your job done. It’s important to figure out if this is something you love. For most people I think it is. If they didn’t love it they would go and find something that involved more solidity for themselves. This is such a fun field, you get to travel, work amazing events with athletes or famous actors and what not.

When I was about to graduate high school, my favorite teacher I ever had wrote something in my year book that I will never forget. It read, “When legends die, dreams end. When dreams end, there is no more greatness. Never. Stop. Dreaming.” My teacher understood my desire to work in this field someday. He saw the fire I had to be successful, and he knew I had a dream. My ultimate goal someday is to be a producer. But my dream has always been to work in sports. I am only a few months away from graduation, and I am in the greatest situation I could have ever imagined. I am going to come out of college working in sports living my dream. I remember waking up as a child and sitting in front of the television watching ESPN thinking to myself how badly I wanted to work in sports some day. I played sports my whole life, and eventual found where my role to live my dream existed. In production.

So what I have to say to you all is never stop chasing your dreams. If you want to be a producer and work in this field someday, figure out what  your role is. Figure out what your passion is and chase it. Do everything you can to make it happen, and if you fall short at least you know you tried. Never stop dreaming.

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The broadcasting industry is has probably the most nontraditional hours of all occupations. You will work many weekends, and many early mornings and late nights. For example, golf tournaments are on the air for roughly 12 hours during tournament days. Tournament days occur from Thursday until Sunday. You will also have to work many days if not weeks prior to the tournament to get everything set up. Many people who work in this field spend most of their lives on the road which makes it hard for those with wives and children. This field carries an extremely high divorce rate because of the amount these people are on the road, and their inability to be home to see their family.

This is something many people don’t exactly understand going into the field. You might know that you’re going to have to work weekends, but you most likely underestimate the amount of traveling you might have to do someday. A lot of people are caught off guard by this and end up not staying in the industry and find jobs in cities near their house that they don’t get the flexibility of moving up in the business like they could have. It’s important to understand what your goal is in this industry and know what you are getting yourself into.

I have given the opportunity to get a taste of this over the years. I have talked to many people about what it’s like being on the road all the time. It has always excited me to have a job where I don’t sit in an office. I’ve always wanted to be on the road and travel and work in different locations. It’s something that a lot of people don’t like to do, but it’s one of the most exciting parts of the industry to myself. I also love the nontraditional hours because you get to do something you love. Every single day is different. You might have similar tasks, but you get to work with different people, in a different place every few weeks. I think the nontraditional hours makes it fun and enjoyable. It makes it seem like it’s not even work because you are constantly busy, and working some awesome events.

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When you watch a broadcast, you will see so many little things that make the broadcast spectacular. These things are something the audience watching doesn’t exactly notice, but it’s something that makes the broadcast so exciting. Whether it’s putting extreme detail into graphics that are on the screen for 2 seconds, or a great camera angle, or even a highlight reel. There’s so much that goes into a broadcast and if you don’t pay attention to the small details your broadcast won’t be something that people want to watch.

In this day and age, graphics are at an all time high. It’s important to understand that if you are in charge of running a low budget broadcast that you do all you can possibly do to make your graphics look like they are at least close to caught up with the high budgeted broadcasts. It’s going to take a lot of work, and long hours to get it done. But if you want to establish yourself and make yourself known that’s the kind of things you have to do in this era. A lot of college students don’t want to put in the work because they would rather spend there time with friends than enhancing their schools broadcasts. If you want to work in this industry, you have to prioritize. If working as a producer is something you want to do prove it and make your broadcasts better.

It has been so important to me to make the broadcasts at my school better than they have ever been. I pay extreme attention to detail. I don’t blow it off because I’d rather hangout with friends. I sit down for hours making graphics and video packages to use for every one of our football and basketball broadcasts. If your dream is to be a producer, start now. Show not only other people what you’re capable of, but show yourself what you can do. Every person has a passion, so express yours in every way you can.

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There are distractions all around us. Some distractions are constant, while others might pop up out of no where. For example, constant distractions we have all the time is our cellphones. People are constantly trying to get in contact with us about different things. This is a distraction that some people don’t use in the right way. Instead of being on twitter, Facebook, snap chat, or Instagram, use your cellphone as a tool to get your work done. An example of something just popping up could be a family issue, or something going on at your house that you can’t take care of. It’s something that is on your mind constantly for a short period of time and it makes it hard to work. In these situations, it’s important to take a day off for yourself if you have the opportunity. We all need a break sometimes to get our thoughts together.

I have had many distractions in my life time. It can make it extremely hard to work because things can constantly be on your mind. It’s the only thing you can think about but yet you have to get a lot of work done still. It’s hard because the world around you can’t understand sometimes what you are going through but expect you to get your work done. It’s important to understand that these distractions will go away. Keep working to try to get your mind off of it, and always put forth the most effort you possibly can during these times. Something I have gotten good at since I came to college is using my phone as a contact point. I no longer play games on my phone. I use my phone for social media, texting, and emails.

I see a lot of people who cause distractions for themselves. One of the biggest is playing games on their phones or computers. If you can stop creating distractions for yourself, you will find that it’s easy to get work done. Staying focused is hard enough as it is, so don’t make it harder for yourself! Get into habits while your young. You will begin to see yourself being more productive. When you get a job or internship you want people to see that you are not easily distracted. Work hard, and make your life easier by cutting out simple distractions.

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One of the biggest benefits to going to a division II school, is the opportunities available. Now they might not be opportunities offered, but they are opportunities that you create for yourself. I see a lot of students here at my school wait around for opportunities to present to themselves instead of going out and making opportunities themselves.

For IUP Football, me and one other student have come together to revamp everything. By teaching ourselves how to use after effects, we have begun making smooth moving graphics to revamp the entire football broadcast here at IUP. It’s nothing anybody told us to do, it’s something we wanted to do. We have dedicated our entire summer to making graphics that will help make our broadcasts here at IUP look more professional.

I think a lot of the time how great it would be to have more students as passionate as we are to make a change in our broadcast. It’s hard when you only work with one maybe two other people to put together graphics, video packages, and commercial transitions. It’s not easy, but it has greatly enhanced my understanding of how a broadcast is run. These days its hard for myself to even watch a game without criticizing it or gathering ideas from it to help us here at IUP.

There are so many schools that could completely revamp their broadcast if they just started putting time into it. All it takes is a driving passion to want to work in this industry, and anything can be possible. So don’t wait for opportunities to just show up. Search for them and then do everything you can to gain experience for yourself. I can’t wait for the day to show people the enhancement of our broadcasts here at IUP based on the effort I put into it. Someday, you could do the same as well at your university.

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We’ve been taught since we were in pre-school too make sure we stay organized. By having folders to keep all our papers in, to having planner books in high school that teachers had to sign off on, it’s something we’ve been taught for as long as we can remember. Unfortunately, organization tends to be a skill that can’t be taught. It’s something you learn once you are on your own and don’t have people constantly reminding you to do things.

The disorganization I see from a lot of people blows my mind sometimes. People are so disorganized that they forget to turn things in for classes because they lost the rubric, or just didn’t know the assignment was due. These are the kinds of things that absolutely can not happen in the working world. If you want to get into broadcasting, you need to make sure you are prepared and organized. You need to know where all of your things are and also you know where you need to be and when at all times. You can’t use the excuse of “I didn’t know” because there was most likely an email sent out informing you of all the information you needed to know.

One of the ways I stay organized is by keeping my calendar up to date. I know exactly when I have things going on. Whether it’s a class, work, or if I am traveling, I know where I have to be and when. I also make sure I put due dates into my calendar so I know what I need to get done each week. It hasn’t been easy to get myself to the level of organization I’m at now, but once you get into a certain habit it’s like clockwork. Find what works you and let it guide you to make sure you don’t miss events or things going on in your life.

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Staying on top of things is a “Major Key” to this industry. See what I did there? Well it is! Something that I always do is try to get put onto events months prior to when they occur. For example, every summer I begin sending emails to people regarding working as a runner or production assistant for things close to Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Usually being in Pittsburgh. I have been opportune with working a game for the Steelers on Thursday Night Football, and also for the Pitt Panthers on ESPN. I have also traveled a little ways, down to West Virginia to work a Mountaineers football game. The main reason I got onto all of these events, is I made sure to get in contact with people on these networks as early as possible. I wanted to make sure people understood how interested I was in working for them.

A lot of students don’t understand the importance of this. They wait to long to apply for internships, jobs, and even classes. They end up not getting into the things that they want and end up doing internships, jobs, or classes that they received rather than they enjoy. It’s so important to stay on top of things, and get in contact with people as early as possible. If  you are a freshman at a university, start getting in contact with companies now. Make sure your name is in their heads so when it comes time to getting an internship, they have a good idea of the kind of person you are and your work ethic.

Most recently I have been getting in contact with people for CBS and FOX to work games each week this upcoming season. Whether they are in Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh, I plan on working one or the other each weekend. I am also expecting to work in Houston this February for Super Bowl 51. It’s an extremely exciting time in my life, and by staying on top of things, I have been granted many great opportunities.

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As I have said many times, communication is key. What I want to explain here is how it might not be face to face communication. We are taught in school to “PUT YOUR PHONES AWAY”. This is a rule that I understand but, for me personally, if I am ever not looking at my phone, I could miss an opportunity at any moment. I have to constantly check my email because I am contacted very often to work jobs. If I don’t have my phone on me, I might miss a call from a runner agency that is looking for local runners to work a game. If I do not answer that call, I could miss out on the job. It’s important to make sure you pay attention in classes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use your phone for business reasons.

I know many people who are the worst at communication. They never check their emails, they don’t respond to texts, and they don’t answer phone calls. In this business, it is so important that you constantly check these things, and get back to people as soon as possible. People in this field are not patient like you have been use to. People respond to emails as fast as they respond to texts sometimes. You have to be able to multitask like crazy and always continue to work. It’s important to start getting into this habit in college, so that when you are in the real world you are prepared, and understand how fast everything goes.

Communication is everything in this industry. You are going to work with people who are extremely impatient, and who will not wait for answers, instead they will go to the next person. Always stay on top of things and respond to people as soon as possible. You will open up many doors for yourself, and people will respect how prompt you are at responding to emails. Trust me, it’s better to be the person who responds quickly, than the person who takes a while to get back to you.

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I know I lecture you guys a lot, and I can’t help it, I wanna help you! Now what I want to explain to you all is something that I fall short of a lot of, but I do understand it well. The broadcasting industry is going to bring you many long nights and early mornings. It’s important to keep your mind fresh. Get as much sleep as possible, eat right, and workout whenever you get the chance. I fall subject to ignoring these things a lot, and I keep myself going by drinking coffee a lot of the time. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a cup of joe in the morning! But it should not be the only way you keep your mind sharp while on the job.

I must say, I see my colleagues do a much better job at this than myself. I have learned a lot over the last few years about the importance of eating healthy and getting a good sweat on once in a while. It makes it easier to get up in the morning, and helps you think better during the day. Most of the people around me have helped motivate me to finally start to stay healthy and how important it is in keeping your mind fresh.

Recently I have started running for 30 minutes after work each day, and I have also been eating healthier than I have in a while. It’s nice to wake up feeling fresh. I think that a lot of college students fall into a very bad diet without even realizing it. Most students eat unhealthy campus food, and also drink a lot of beer. It’s not difficult to gain weight, and because we’re young we don’t notice the side effects as much as we might in 10 years from now. Start making healthy choices now, and you will love yourself for it in the future. You will also think more clearly and be more productive with your day!

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