SLM: Tell us about yourself — how did you end up at SIUC & what are you studying there?
RD: I am currently a junior, studying “Radio, Television & Digital Media.” At first, I didn’t want to go off to college. I wanted to stay in my hometown and accomplish my college career in Chicago. My dad, being the great guy that he is, dragged me into leaving home. I was still unsure until one day, there was a college fair going on at the high school I attended. I talked to some SIUC recruiters about their Mass Communication department. I got excited and motivated about going to SIUC. SIUC has a really good Radio/TV program. SIUC has put a lot of money into their Radio/TV program to make it a good experience for students. Since my freshman year at SIUC, a lot of the Radio/TV courses have been hands-on, which is really great because not a lot of students at other universities or colleges get a hands-on experience until their junior year. I grew a lot of love for TV production as a sophomore in high school, where I was introduced to the lifestyle of video editing, shooting videos, producing, directing and more. I love to edit videos. I don’t see myself being on camera, but I enjoy the behind the scene work. I think it’s a lot more exciting than being on camera. When I’m editing, it’s like I’m in my own little world. I tune everyone and everything around me out. I’m a little shy, but I’m working on becoming more of an extrovert. It just takes time for me to adjust to people. But here at SLM, I actually feel like I belong here.
SLM: In your own words, what is an externship?
RD: I think that an externship is very similar to an internship instead, it isn’t as long of an internship. With an externship, you have little time to learn things. So basically, once you have learned everything, you really don’t have time to actually put your skills to test as you would with an internship. So you have to get what you can out of an externship and make the best of it.
SLM: What are you looking forward to the most while externing here at SolidLine?
RD: I look forward to learning as much as I can because it’s really important to know how to operate all equipment and be able to wear many hats when trying to land your dream career job. It also prepares you for when you actually land your dream job. With SLM, I would like to learn the process of making production happen. I would like to go through every step possible for production work, whether it’s pre-production, production, or post-production. I want to be able to photoshop, create graphics, edit with Avid, direct, produce and more.
solidline welcomes externs
SLM: Initial impression of the SolidLine crew? (Be honest!)
RD: The crew members are very friendly. Actually, I didn’t think they would be as friendly as they are. John Courchane and Mike Petrik were really patient with me. They didn’t expect me to understand everything all at once but they were very helpful. Look at it this way, I’m two times smarter with the things they taught me now than I was last week. I really enjoyed talking with Allison Miller. I feel welcomed here. I feel like I fit in with the crew. They’re all cool! I feel like this is where I belong. The crew members are very hard working, driven, and dedicated to what they do here at SLM.
SLM: How do you think the cookie competition is gonna go down?
RD: This is a good question. I’m not really sure about how the Cookie Competition will go down, but I know it’s going to be fun. I have very little ideas of what some of the crew members are going to prepare…shh, no worries, I won’t tell anyone’s delicious secrets, but I will say that this may be tough for the judges to decide on a winner. The crew has been talking trash to each other all week, so I know I don’t want to miss the challenge Wednesday!
SLM: And lastly, where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
RD: I have always imagined myself producing or editing for some production company. I also see myself running my own production company for people like myself, looking forward to learning new things and gaining experience. With my production company, interns will have to have a certain amount of experience to work on real, big projects. So it will be a practice for them and helping them prepare for real, professional jobs. Once my career is on and going, I would like to help others pursue their dreams.

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