EBF promotes a more diverse industry by recruiting promising students of color for multi-year paid internships at some of the nation’s leading Media and Tech companies.
EBF Program Benefits:
A paid summer internship
Ability to apply for a need-based scholarship
Exposure to top professionals and industry executives
Access to professional development workshops & annual conference
Opportunities for one-on-one career coaching and mentoring
A lifelong community of EBF peers, alumni, professionals, and partners
Join us to learn more about the Emma Bowen Foundation internship program and get the chance to speak with our President & CEO, Nikki Bethel, along with a panel of fantastic EBF Alumni ready to answer all of your questions. Click here to register for this event!
Professor Nikolina Dobreva interviews Dan Curry ’68 about his work with Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. Click here to view the webinar recording.
Register now to join Media, Advertising, Marketing and Entertainment professionals for four days of open dialogue focused on advancing diversity from advocacy to activism and from inclusion to belonging, September 20-23.
Knight Foundation believes that the digital space holds significant opportunities for cultural institutions, and in recent years has intensified its work to help organizations create valuable digital content. Museums that do not invest in digital capabilities and offerings will miss important connections with potential audiences. This deficiency also seems likely to erode the relevance of the arts in society as audiences spend increasing amounts of time online.
In early 2018, Knight Foundation approved $970,000 in grants that aimed to raise the digital profiles of eight museums by supporting the costs of positions dedicated to digital and technology work. These digital positions would conceive, plan, and implement digital strategies that improve the visitor experience and expand audiences. Seven of the initial eight grantees proceeded to hire their digital positions; four of the museums’ hires remain in their positions as of this writing.
The grant period presented a series of unprecedented challenges for museums and for society at large. The Covid-19 pandemic forced many museums to close their physical spaces, pivot to remote work and add more digital programming. The racial justice movement accelerated in 2020, which itself caused a reckoning with museums’ histories of Eurocentrism and lack of staff and board diversity.
All seven grantees showed growth in digital capacity during the grant period. And, though the grantees differed significantly in their budget sizes and in the scope of their digital programs, several themes surfaced repeatedly during the research.
Peer Career Advisor (PCA) and Posse Scholar Zoey Ellis’22 interviewed Terrence (TJ) Smith, Account Manager at Google, to answer common career related questions LGBTQ+ identifying students might have when seeking job opportunities.
Zoey: What activities or student organizations were you involved in during college and how did they help you get to where you are today?
TJ: I was involved in Black Student Union as the treasurer. I also was a RIDDIM co-director and a Language Tables manager. My experiences in these organizations allowed me to strengthen transferable soft skills such as: people management, effective communication, and organizing events. That said, I think the biggest benefit was being able to have a diverse outlet. Understanding the importance of caring about something or being involved in something outside of work is crucial.
Zoey: As a graduate who identifies as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender Non-Conforming, Genderfluid, or Queer, what are some of the questions you suggest students should keep in mind when researching employers and applying to job opportunities?
TJ: When researching employers, check to see if they have a LGBTQ+ resource group, typically you can find that around the company culture section. Do they have a resource group? Are they recognized for their work in the LGBTQ+ space? If they have a company blog, do they mention topics the queer community face? Honestly, any question that interrogates how the company values their queer employees.
Zoey: Would you suggest students consider to what extent they would like their career to incorporate their LGBTQ+ identity? Do you want your identity to have a major role, such as working for an LGBTQ+ advocacy group? Or expressed in a different way, like joining the LGBTQ+ affinity group for employees at an organization?
TJ: When thinking about your brand and who you are, think about what kind of role you want your LGBTQ+ identity to play. I, personally, decided to be out at work, but I haven’t been too involved with our company’s LGBTQ+ resource group. I’m a big advocate of separating work and personal life, so I focus on expressing my queer identity in avenues outside of work i.e. volunteering with LGBTQ+ orgs.
Zoey: Could you recommend any career related LGBTQ+ resources that helped you in the job search process?
TJ: O4U (Out for Undergrad) is a great organization that hosts conferences for queer college students to explore their LGBTQ+ identity while in the workplace. I recommend every queer student to at least check out the website. If they have an event for your field, definitely apply! It’s a great network and exposure opportunity.
Zoey: Have you come out to your employer, and if so, when in the employment process and how?
TJ: I came out after I was already hired. If you decide to divulge your queer identity during the interview process, I would just make sure you leverage it in a way that shows strength to your character. I have no strong feelings for or against discussing your identity while interviewing, it’s all situational.
Zoey: What advice would you give your younger college self?
TJ: Be open to change. Determining how you spend your 40+ hours of the week for the rest of your life at 21 years old is absurd. Your dreams may change. Don’t be afraid of evolving.
Zoey: Is there any other advice that you’d like to share with Middlebury students?
TJ: You’re a Middlebury College student during a pandemic. Except for the class of 2020, literally no one alive can say they’ve experienced that. Be easy on yourself and give yourself space to take things day by day.
If you would like to contact Terrence (TJ) Smith, please reach out via Midd2Midd!
Devoted to supporting a global community of galleries, artists, and collectors, CADAF launched CADAF Online, a virtual art fair held online from June 25 to 28, 2020. Click here to Listen to All the Replays!
-Join Jopwell on September 15th for their virtual event, Comunidad Unida, where they will bring together various voices and diasporas across corporate, entrepreneurship, and academic leadership to discuss identity in the workforce and emerging trends in the emerging Latinx labor force.
–Jopwell Talks – Explores early career development and what students need to be successful in the workplace.
