On Friday, I got the privilege to work with The New England School of Communications (NESCom) at Husson University, alongside many of video production teacher Mrs. Robinson’s students to put on the 2017 production of Coffee House.

Each high school student was partnered with a college student to follow in order to learn what the position was like and to help him or her with any tasks. I worked with sophomore Liz Iaconis to host the event and interview the performers. It was my first time being on camera, and I was incredibly nervous, but the NESCom students we worked with made it an enjoyable experience.

In addition to gaining some on-the-job experience, students from the high school got a chance to talk to the college students and teachers from NESCom and learn what their college experience is like, as well as what NESCom has done for them.

Ryan, one NESCom student, got some on-the-job experience himself when he went to the class C and D state championships at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

“For that,” Ryan said, “I did the broadcast and the audio, which was cool. We had beautiful wireless mics and wired mics. I am more of a music mixer, but it was cool to get a better understanding on the broadcast side of things and learn some things I didn’t know. For the things I didn’t know, everyone was there to help me along the way. The good thing about NESCom is that if you are drowning, somebody is always there to help you.”

Another student, Alex, said that NESCom fit his learning style.

“Something I love about our school is that I am a very tangible learner. I learn by touching things, and you get to touch gear the first week when you come to school,” Alex said. “You really get hands-on experience that you don’t necessarily get other places. Having four years of experience touching a console really helps me develop the workflow that I like and it’s something that I don’t really think any schools elsewhere give you the opportunity to do that. And, on top of that, we have a TV show that we get to film once every two weeks-ish. That’s a lot of really valuable experience. You get a feel for different aspects of the industry that other schools wouldn’t offer to you.”

Justin Foster, alum of both LHS and NESCom, came to the event to share what he’s been doing since graduation.

“I have done everything from working for CNN National, Megyn Kelly’s show, and The O’Reilly Factor. I do Red Sox games, Celtics games, Bruins games, and Patriots games,” said Foster. “Patriots games are the most fun because I get to stand on the 30-yard line in front of the coaches and watch. That’s the coolest thing.”

And college kids and high schoolers weren’t the only ones on crew that night.

Middle school students Isabella McCutcheon, Hannah McLinn, and Sam Brown from Mrs. Roy’s Creative Computer and Media class came to the high school to help on set with filming. These students took the class because they loved the idea of creativity and filming rather than creating a physical object.

“It was nerve-wracking at first, but once we got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it.” McCutcheon said. “I want to be a journalist when I grow up, and I know that working with cameras and people in this type of setting is a lot of what happens when you are a journalist, so it is good to have practice like this early on. I liked working on the camera and having the headset and being told what to do through that.”

McLinn said she felt “really out of place” at first while working with so many older students.

“Then once you get to know everyone and start talking to them, you’re like everyone else and get to have fun,” McLinn said.

Brown was able to carry a $35,000 camera on his shoulder for the night, capturing shots of the performers. 

“Staying with it on my shoulder for a long time was the hardest part,” Brown said. “It really wore my shoulder out.”

Brown thought working with the high school and college students was a great experience.

“I really like how supportive everyone was,” Brown said. “I really enjoyed working with them.”

Click here if you are interested in knowing more about NESCom’s programs.