Students filled Hewitt Hall Ballroom in February for the annual Communication, Media and the Arts (CMA) Career Showcase — an event designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world careers featuring a few of alumni.

Now in its third year, the purpose was to show opportunities in what Megan McGarvey Mazzoccone assistant director and career coach for communications, media and the arts, described as breaking down common misconceptions of limited opportunities in creative fields.

The 2007 SUNY Oswego graduate said that having clear, open conversations with representatives from a range of organizations in an intimate setting is essential to students’ success.

The ballroom featured a number of organizations from Upstate and Central New York, including NewsChannel 9, New York Film Academy, Powerhouse Theatre, Big Fox, Dresden Public Relations, WRVO Public Media, The Rev, Partners + Nappier and Fox 28, among others.

For Callie Broderick, a cinema and screen studies major, the event offered direct access to companies she hopes to work for after graduation.

“I wanted to check out American High,” Broderick said, referring to the Syracuse-based production company known for teen-focused films.

She was able to take away more information regarding more summer internships that move her one step closer to her long-term goal of working as a production assistant in New York City or Los Angeles. Eventually, she hopes to pursue screenwriting for television.

Axel Caceres, a communications and social interactions major, initially attended as a part of his COM 490 class but quickly found value in exploring the range of opportunities different employers offer. He said he hopes the event helps him discover a career that aligns with his interests. Resume in hand, he said the goal was simple: gain feedback and explore options.

“I’m hoping everybody tells me what I need to work on, so I can prepare for finding a job later on,” he said. Still undecided about a specific career path, he viewed the showcase as a starting point to narrow down opportunities within the major.

Alumni pay it forward

Alumni who joined the event as representatives connected back to one important message: connections and hands-on experience matter. Christina Galvin ’18 M’19, managing producer at WSYR-TV (NewsChannel 9), said her first job after graduating came directly from relationships she built at Oswego.

Galvin graduated from the five-year MBA in broadcasting and mass communication program, earning a bachelor’s and a master’s before launching her career.

“I was doing a package in the middle of campus,” she said. “I get a phone call from the news director at NewsChannel 9 asking to meet up with us.”

Her professor Micheal Riecke helped open a door and she had her first job one week after graduating.

She credited her time at the on-campus, student-run television station, WTOP-10, with preparing her for the realities of broadcast journalism. From anchoring to directing, she said the experience exposed her to “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the news industry.

Her advice to students: “Try everything,” she said. “You’re at the perfect stage in your life to figure out what works for you.”

Don Barr ’85, general manager of WYDC-TV in Corning, shared how a difficult calculus grade pushed him to pivot from accounting to communications — a decision that shaped his entire career in television sales and marketing.

“I was getting Cs and Ds in my major and As in broadcasting,” Barr said. “So I switched, and it was fantastic.”

Barr also credited WTOP-10 for providing him with hands-on learning and demonstrating teamwork in production settings. After landing a broadcasting internship, he soon discovered that wasn’t the path meant for him.

“And I thought, I could probably sell,” he said.

Having a passion for data and interest in sales, he then landed another internship at a TV station focused on sales and digital marketing and his career took off from there.

'Somebody helped me'

“Somebody helped me back in 1985,” he said. “That's why I'm here — to help our current students.”

Tom Murphy ’14, supervisor of creative operations at Partners + Napier, said landing his first job through a temp agency gave him the confidence to pursue advertising. Though he always knew he wanted to work in advertising, he said he “fell into” operations and discovered a passion for bridging communication and design.

Murphy uses the knowledge he gained through his degrees in communication and social interaction and in graphic design, and applies it to his everyday role in the field.

“I’m in an executive role — very communication- and business-driven,” he said, “versus the design role in helping to understand what designers are into every day.”

Murphy emphasized building relationships with alumni was key during his years and is one of the reasons he was able to succeed in his career today.

Freelance illustrator David Owens ’15 said flexibility within the curriculum helped him build a professional portfolio before graduation. Through extracurricular projects — illustrations for campus publications and creative collaborations — he developed the skills that led to paid freelance work only three months after graduating.

“I remember when I got my first editorial illustration job after I had graduated,” he said. “It was one of those first moments where I was doing what I really wanted to do.”

Owens began his journey with illustrations through organizations on campus such as the Oswegonian and the Great Lakes Review. To Owens, those activities were fundamental in utilizing the resources outside of the classroom. By participating in the CMA Showcase, he hopes to provide the same clarity to the next upcoming graduates.

Mazzoccone emphasized the accomplishment in simply students having the exposure and ability to see themselves in the alumni as well as employers.

“It’s really great to see the students talking to professionals from different industries,” she said. “Students might not know what these professionals do, but being able to ask them and learn … is really important.”

-- Written by Emily Sosa of the Class of 2026 for University Advancement