An unforgettable experience
4/20/2009 3:04:16 PM
It’s been over a month since the East Coast Music Awards were held in Corner Brook and students at College of the North Atlantic (CNA) are still talking about their experience at the event.
For 19-year-old Adam Diamond of Botwood, the event offered the first-year journalism student the opportunity to use his skills in a real-time situation.
“The ECMAs were great! It gave me a chance to actually see and feel what it was like to get something done by deadline,” says Diamond.
“We have deadlines for our classes, but the deadline is usually a week. At the ECMAs we had to go out, cover our stuff, come back and get our stories or videos done that day. It was a great experience! I think it will affect my career in a great way. It will look excellent on a resume, and my video was picked up by the Western Star, which got my work out there.”
Journalism instructor Frank Carroll also believes the ECMA event will have a positive impact on each student.
“The ECMA conference was a great opportunity to give the students some real-life experience in real-time,” says Carroll.
“They volunteered for the ECMA community radio station. They posted articles, video, photos and slideshows to their Troubadour website on deadline. They also got a chance to mix with other people in media and make connections that way. Some of them had their work published and posted by the Western Star and the Telegram. We had two students who worked on the ECMA awards gala with CBC. All in all, I thought it was an enriching experience for the journalism students.”
The students of Recording Arts and Music Industry and Performance programs also benefited from their participation at the ECMAs.
“We are so proud of the professionalism shown by all Music Industry and Performance students during the ECMAs,” says Ginger Bennett, an instructor with the music department at CNA.
“They were true ambassadors of the college in every way. They attended many showcases and seminars throughout the weekend. Most students were networking and some established positive relationships with key players in the industry.”
She says they were even able to help out when a last minute cancellation occurred.
“A young group of students that had recently formed a band even showcased on the Discovery Stage (sponsored by CNA) due to a last minute cancellation. They jumped at the opportunity and Andrew Gagne, Nicholas Billard and Ryan Taylor played a very high energy show without hesitation. In addition, the presence of students at several venues was evident.”
According to Scott Hammond, Recording Arts instructor, his students did an amazing job accommodating any obstacles thrown in their way.
“When we arrived at ECMA we learned that there had been a little confusion as to the fine details of how the Discovery Stage was to be run. As it turns out we were to look after the stage 100 per cent which was not my initial understanding,” says Hammond.
“What this meant to me was that we were now responsible for overseeing every aspect of the stage and had just taken on all of the stress associated with that. This was heightened by the fact that our crew were all first-year and second-year students.”
He says none of the students had real world experience for this type of event and yet they stepped up and got the job done.
“Half of them only have a couple of sound courses under their belt. But I felt like I had a well trained crew of professionals working with me. If I had my time back and had the option of hiring a crew of industry professionals instead...I would still pick the students. They blew me away!”
Wade Pinhorn, chair of the ECMA Board of Directors, says CNA’s involvement in the ECMAs was crucial.
"The partnership between the ECMA and College of the North Atlantic is an excellent one. In particular, the students from the Music Industry and Performance, Recording Arts, Visual Arts and Journalism programs had a great impact on our event in Corner Brook,” he says.
“Engaging these young people through a hands-on environment at a live event is an experience I'm sure they will never forget and their impact on the overall quality of our event was evident at all times. Our association looks forward to an on-going partnership with CNA on many levels."
For more information of the ECMAs check out the Troubador Online.
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For more information please contact:
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Assistant
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca