116: Breaking into Creative Careers

Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this ‘hands-on’ experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 13 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries.
Senior Sydney Cook Rogoff begins our episode with an in depth discussion of the Creative and Cultural Industries with Kellen Sweny, a Tech Initiatives Program Manager for the Walt Disney Company, specifically Walt Disney World. They discuss in detail the study of Creative and Cultural Industries before diving into the different aspects of the Walt Disney Company and focusing specifically on the responsibility the company has to continue to produce outstanding content and how Sweny contributes to this goal. They touch on how Sweny came to work for the company and what drew her to it in the first place, before they conclude with Sweny’s “words of wisdom” for anyone trying to get a job in the corporate world of Disney, and how she herself worked to get her job. They touch on the Disney College Program (a program setup by the Walt Disney Company for aspiring Disney employees) and how this program helped her attain her current role at Disney.
Our second segment in today’s episode features an interview with Travis Garcia, the Co-Director of Features Programming at the Newport Beach Film Festival, who speaks with Marisa Lamas. Listen in as Marisa and Travis delve into the film festival industry and find out what it takes to take on the role of a director of features programming. They discuss Travis’ previous work experience and what prepared him for his current job, from interning with the Austin Film Festival to student teaching at Cal State Fullerton in the Film, Cinema, and Media Studies sector. They also explore some of the position’s highlights and challenges which prompts a discussion what kind of skills are needed to truly succeed in a position like Travis’ and how to develop those skills. As they wrap up the interview, Travis has a chance to discuss some of the influential figures who were responsible for steering him in the right direction, and the advice that they bestowed on him that will always hold a prevalent place in his mind.