September 29, 2021
Would you like to connect with industry professionals? Are you interested in growing your network and learning about new career paths? Do you have questions about your desired profession?
CSUN’s Journalism Department will host a free, virtual Speed Mentoring event on Thursday, Sept. 30, from 5:30 - 7 p.m., via Zoom. The online event is open to all students and will provide them the opportunity to connect with working professionals to discuss their chosen career paths, say organizers as well as gain advice and ask questions about what a day on the job might look like.
Speed Mentoring will feature panelists with expertise in broadcast, print/digital media and public relations. Additionally, the event will include a resume review option.
Students who Zoom into the event will be greeted in the main room by a journalism professor who will direct them to a breakout room where they can chat with a mentor. Students have the ability to move between rooms, if they choose to do so.
To receive the Zoom links for the event, students must RSVP in advance. An email containing four Zoom links, one for each room, will be sent to those who have registered.
“Sometimes students are shy to get out of their comfort zone, but this is a really great way to practice networking in a safe environment. I’ve recruited these mentors because they have a lot of knowledge to share with students,” said Dr. Stephanie Bluestein, associate professor and Journalism's internship coordinator. “Students may end up learning something they had no idea they were going to learn, or even realized they needed to know.”
This event, which takes place once a semester, runs for 90 minutes. Students can arrive at any time. However, a 30-minute time commitment is recommended, said Bluestein. The longer student stay, the more mentors they will meet. Mentors include CSUN alumni and professionals from Los Angeles and as far away as Virginia and New York.
Speed Mentoring began in Fall 2013 in partnership with the CSUN Journalism Alumni Association (JAA). It was always an in-person fall event on campus until COVID-19 forced it to move online in Fall 2020. The event is now hosted virtually in the fall and spring semesters. Once conditions allow the event to be held in-person again, Bluestein said she hopes it will be offered one semester in-person and the next semester online because each format has its benefits.
Students should expect to ask questions and have their cameras on. (Virtual backgrounds are acceptable). A list of mentors and the RSVP link are available below.
RSVP link: https://bit.ly/3ErsYRZ
PUBLIC RELATIONS mentors
Claudia Santa Cruz, president of Santa Cruz Communications PR agency
Bridget Fornaro, assistant account executive for Porter Novelli PR agency
Kaylee Largay, artist manager & head of talent partnerships, The Chicane Group
Dina Pielaet, marketing, communications & web design coordinator for Moorpark College
Monica Pontrelli, senior account director for Wonacott Communications
Champaign Williams, account supervisor, Antenna Strategic Relations in New York City
BROADCAST JOURNALISM mentors (both English & Spanish-Language outlets)
Dusty Baker, sports anchor/reporter for KSBY in San Luis Obispo
Jarvis Haren, TV sports anchor/reporter in Bristol, Virginia
Xochitl Hernandez, bilingual multimedia reporter with NBC Right Now & Telemundo
Diana Jimenez, associate producer for L.A. Times Today
Mahelda Rodriguez, managing editor, KVEA Telemundo 52
Sara Stinson, TV reporter at KRON 4 News in San Francisco
PRINT / DIGITAL mentors
Tom Bray, senior editor for Southern California News Group (L.A. Daily News)
Steve Padilla, Column One editor for L.A. Times
Joel Russell, editor of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal
James Williams, digital sports producer and reporter for OC Register & Southern California News Group
Alex Vejar, sports reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune
RESUME REVIEW
Rochelle Kanoff, public relations specialist
Craig Leener, human resources executive, young-adult novelist and CSUN Journalism Alumni Association board member
– By Sophia Kandah