About 100 University of Michigan students gathered at the Ross School of Business Saturday for the Ross Entertainment Conference, the first conference held by the student organization, which focused on providing opportunities for students going into the entertainment and film industries.
The conference was an opportunity for students to learn about the field while networking with film and entertainment professionals through speaker sessions, Q&A panels and workshops. Speakers included Diane Foster, a director, producer, actor and founder of WallyBird Productions; John Berlinski, an entertainment industry lawyer at Bird Marella; Law lecturer Paul Szynol, also a filmmaker and documentarian; Michael Burke, a lecturer at the U-M Department of Film, Television, and Media and Lauren Beck, the Oscar-nominated producer of “Manchester By the Sea.”
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Music, Theatre & Dance junior Thomas Welch said he was excited to learn more about the entertainment industry through attending the conference, as the topic is not often covered at campus events.
“I was very interested that (the Business School) was hosting a conference just specifically towards entertainment,” Welch said. “I feel like there’s not a lot of opportunities to hear about the entertainment business.”
Business junior Viveca Henry, REC’s co-president, told The Daily she hoped the conference would address issues on the lack of opportunities for U-M students who are interested in careers in entertainment and film.
“Initially, when coming to the conclusion that we wanted to create this conference, it was because there was a hole in the market,” Henry said. “We thought (the University) wasn’t doing enough to bring film here, and we really wanted to put (the University) on the map as a place for companies, for the creative and non-creative roles all related to film, to recruit students.”
To prepare for the event, Henry said the REC team strived to recruit local film and entertainment professionals that would allow students to learn directly from those working in the industry.
“Our strategy was, ‘Who is in Michigan, who’s already here that we don’t have to fly out?’” Henry said. “We researched different professors and different people that worked at the University. Second, it was, ‘Who’s an alumni that would have the means or would have the incentive to fly out here?’ Talking to professors (and) talking to the film commissioner of the state of Michigan was actually one of the biggest helps in connecting us to people because she knew things going on in the state.”
After listening to the speaker panels, Music, Theatre & Dance junior Molly Weisberg told The Daily she felt the conference provided her with information directly relevant to her future career aspirations.
“I’m very interested in learning more about the entertainment industry, network, grow and hopefully have some job in this industry, either as a performer or administrative services or a producer,” Weisberg said. “I found this conference very interesting because a lot of the topics that they’ve been talking about so far have been really tailored to the field that I want to go into.”
Weisberg told The Daily she had felt especially inspired when listening to Foster speak.
“It was very inspiring to know that someone just like us, who’s in school right now, can also achieve those goals,” Weisberg said. “It was also really reassuring to have successful people understand how important it is to take risks, because in the field that we currently are, we take risks all the time. My biggest takeaway is how important it is to just keep trying and keep putting yourself out there and take every opportunity that you think would be best fit for you.”
Henry said the REC team is working to host more events in the future and is excited to bring more opportunities to students.
“We have big things in store,” Henry said. “We think that no matter your background, no matter your major, you will be able to draw something from our conference. We’re building a community, not just at the (University), but in the state of Michigan. Our visions aren’t just sticking to (the Business School), it’s for the greater Ann Arbor initiative.”
Daily Staff Reporter Grace Park can be reached at gracepm@umich.edu.
