ELA holds Transition Week for seniors

Stefan Belt '15 and Michael Doppel '15 attend the Crafting Your Ideal Career workshop during Emerson Los Angeles' inaugural Transition Week for seniors. (Photo by Michelle Kwong '15)

Emerson College Los Angeles held its first-ever Transition Week March 23–28, providing graduating seniors a series of workshops and industry visits to help prepare them for life after college.

“We want to plant seeds in their minds to start planning now…so they can be set up for success,” said Rob Eckard ’10, residence director for student programming at Emerson Los Angeles.

The week kicked off with a relaxation workshop to help students de-stress through arts therapy and a massage program. Students also attended a taping of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, where they met with a producer’s assistant—a job some might consider in the near future.

Other Transition Week events included:

·      An apartment-hunting workshop with realtor Nancy Isaacs ’79

·      Mock job interviews and networking with members of the Emerson GOLD Los Angeles Chapter

·      Discussion panel on selling your internship experience with SEO specialist Max Goldberg ’07; Lionsgate human resources coordinator Amanda Maltz ’10; and Ross Leitner, an internship site supervisor for a local production company.

Emerson’s Career Services Office was also on hand during the week to meet with students individually.

Kerri McManus, MA '98, director of internships at Emerson Los Angeles, held a workshop called Crafting Your Career for seniors during Transition Week. (Photo by Michelle Kwong '15)

Kerri McManus, MA ’98, director of internships for ELA, moderated a workshop called “Crafting Your Ideal Career: Creating a Roadmap for Your Professional Path and Writing the Next Chapter.”

“Seeing the challenges that students have had over the years, I wanted to…help them figure out their next steps,” McManus said. “Who are you? What do you stand for? How do you create that vision for yourself?”

Enrique Rivera '15 attended Transition Week events at Emerson Los Angeles. (Photo by Daryl Paranada)

Enrique Rivera ’15, a Visual and Media Arts major, participated in the workshop.

“The advice and tips we received were really helpful,” Rivera said. “It’s nice to have a program that helps us realize we need to begin the transition process on top of our internships and courses.”