Mason alumna Susana Castillo, press secretary, Office of Communications, Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Browser, was one of the many professionals who came to the Commmunication Career Forum. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services.
More than 250 George Mason University students gathered in the Hub Ballroom on the Fairfax Campus on Oct. 22 for the annual Communication Career Forum hosted by Mason’s Department of Communication and its external advisory board, The Insight Committee.
The purpose: connecting students to mentors in their fields.
“This is an excellent student turnout, which is very encouraging,” said Anne Nicotera, professor and department chair.
Students who attended the event, coordinated by Kate Sweeney, the department’s journalism program coordinator, received career advice and made connections with some of the area’s leading communication professionals.
The keynote speaker was Mason alumna Rana Novack, BA Communication ’06, who is leading a global IBM team to leverage machine learning and cognitive computing to enable government agencies and humanitarian aid organizations to better manage refugee and migration crises.
“The forum presents a unique opportunity for communication students to network and ask questions about the industry that they’ve been curious about,” said senior communication major Caitlin Murray, a member of Mason's Honors College. “I think all comm students should go at least once, and take advantage of it every year if possible.”
.jpg)
The professionals in attendance at this year's Communication Career Forum represented fields such as corporate communication, media production, journalism, marketing, and public relations. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services.
The professionals in attendance represented fields such as corporate communication, media production, journalism, marketing, and public relations. Mentors came from organizations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Northrop Grumman, NBC News and the Washington Nationals, and included Washington, D.C., Government press secretary Susana Castillo, BA Communication ’13.
Molly Hermann, a local documentary filmmaker and owner of The Biscuit Factory production company, said she attended the event as a mentor to pay forward her experiences to new members of her field.
“I clearly remember being a college student and thinking of the outside world as this great unknown,” Hermann said. “I’m happy to get a chance to share my experiences and demystify the process—because it is a process—of turning a degree into a career. I was very impressed with the turnout, the insightful questions, and enthusiasm of the students.”
“Attending this event was an opportunity for me to find mentorship and job opportunities,” said senior communication major Emily Sexaur, winner of the event’s T-shirt design contest. “I networked with amazing industry leaders, got business cards and learned what I can do to improve my career development.”
Sexaur said it is reassuring that the Department of Communication and its alumni are committed to helping others succeed.
“It gives me a sense of comfort that I am going to be able to find my future with the help of those around me,” she said.
Students at the event left with a T-shirt featuring Sexaur’s design, which read, “’Cool, COMM, and Collected,” and encouragement from Novack.
“People want to be inspired,” Novack said. “They invest in things that they believe in. They’ll invest time and thought and energy—not just money. You all have that ability to inspire. Communication is about inspiration. You can choose to make inspiration and communication a cornerstone in any career you choose.”