By: Taiyler Mitchell, Life+Style Reporter (@taivlersimone)
A spontaneous trip to New York went from good to great when students from the Introduction to Media Production course decided to go on a quick weekend trip to New York.
Left to right. Chanté Russell. Ayanna Carrington. Kiara Nelson. Taiyler Mitchell. Rebecca Johnson.
“I noticed a lot of similarities between Toronto and New York.” said Andrew Tamburro, a Toronto native. “The only difference was Toronto is not as big as New York and everyone seems so rude and angry all the time. People in Toronto will actually say ‘hi’ to you. Toronto is actually a lot cleaner than New York. Times Square was pretty cool, but there wasn’t much of a wow factor. Visiting the set of Wild ‘N Out on my first trip to New York was definitely unreal.”
Howard journalism professor, Dr. Frederic Kendrick, extended the offer to his students to visit the set of Wild ‘N Out and by Friday night we were watching the production of the show, taking advice from Nick Cannon and experiencing the party that is the green room.
“As a professor and practitioner of journalism and the larger field of communications, I believe it is imperative that each student has as many opportunities as possible to witness and experience the field they profess to desire to enter.” said Kendrick. “If I routinely navigate these circles, then why not invite my students at every opportunity?”
As students of the School of Communications, they took advantage of this experience by using their areas of interest to ask questions and to chronicle the experience. Tamburro focused on photography.
Kiara Nelson, a sophomore TV and film major, and Ayanna Carrington, a transfer and television and film major, focused on videography. Nelson created a video titled “NYC Vlog // Wild ‘N Out Day 1” on YouTube. Carrington posted the experience on her social media.
Chanté Russell, a sophomore journalism major and Rebecca Johnson, a sophomore journalism major, focused on reporting. Russell fielded a feature about the fashion styles behind the show. Johnson will be posting her features on her website, www.therebeccajohnson.com.
Top Center: Nick Cannon. Second Row, Left to Right: Jourdan Embry. Ayanna Carrington. Chanté Russell. Taiyler Mitchell. Marissa Watts. Raydijah Walters. Kiara Nelson. Rebecca Johnson. Bottom Row, Left to Right: Andrew Tamburro. Dr. F. Kendrick.
Regardless of the specific concentrations, the experience proved to be useful to all of the students in similar ways. It confirmed their interest in the field and solidified their career goals.
“Stumbling upon such a fun time as well as great professional opportunity was totally unexpected, but that’s the kind of thing I’ve come to love about Howard. Dr. Kendrick is definitely one of the professors who’s always willing to offer their students opportunities and those are the kind of people that make Howard what it is—the reason I came here,” Russell said. “It was an experience I will never forget.
“It was the first time since I’ve been here that was truly sure of myself and where I’m headed,” Carrington said.
Johnson said, “I got my chance to try my hand at live reporting. Nick Cannon was so generous with his time and information. I am truly grateful for him and Dr. Kendrick for this opportunity. We started out as classmates, turned into production crew, and left as close friends.”
