By Christian Masqueda and
Edgar Uriostegui
Cal State Dominguez Hills communications students took a tour of Spanish network giant Univision on Oct. 28, where they met with industry professionals and gained perspective on what employers look for in potential interns.
Students, whose majors included journalism, public relations and media studies, got a glimpse of the inner workings of the company’s West Coast headquarters in Westchester.
The tour was led by Edgar Rodriguez and Yadira Rosas, both community empowerment coordinators. They answered student questions about the news broadcasting industry while viewing newsrooms, studio sets and employees at work.
Rodriguez introduced the Creative Works Department, in particular The Flama, an English language video destination that caters to U.S. born “billennials” or Latino millennials. It includes short-form content and series in the genres of comedy, music, lifestyle, sports and documentaries.
Employees mentioned the creative department has under a year of operations under their belt. Employee backgrounds include marketing, journalism and public relations.
Students also met with news anchor Annabelle Sedano, who works for Univision 34’s “Primera Hora” morning news show.
Sedano spoke about her background in journalism, receiving her degree from Cal State Northridge, and reminded students how important it is to be open to different possibilities, as the path that one takes will not always be what they expected.
Jacqueline Ramirez, executive producer at Univision, said the station sees about 20 students who apply for internships and only accepts two.
“Be hungry, but don’t be desperate,” she said.
Marco Flores, news director at Univision, offered students advice to, “be yourselves,” when applying for a position in this industry.
Sharon Sharp, communications professor, said this trip not only gave students insight into the minds of media professionals but allowed students to see what career choices are available and how they are evolving in the social media and technological age.
For public relations major Amelia Soto, the uncertainty of the media industry is what allows her to have high hopes, but no expectations.
“No matter what you get into in this industry you’re probably going to end up somewhere else,” Soto said. That “keeps me more open-minded.”
