SMC's Women in Media Club Helps Peers Break Into the Industry
The students in charge of the Women in Media Club, one of the newest clubs on campus, have come together and started this group in order to help other women break into industries that revolve around media. The women leading the club are using their experiences and connections in order to achieve their goals. Liaison for the club, Alivia Levie, said “I’ve built myself quite the network, which I want to share with everyone... The more people you know the further you’ll get in your career…. I’m just super stoked that I get that opportunity to share that because no one really gave me that opportunity…”
“I decided to start this club because I felt there was a need for it at SMC, especially for the mentorship program I want to create," said Brie Elise, president of the Women in Media Club. "I envision creating a network of women industry leaders that will assist our student members in finding job placement and also giving them career advice."
Monica Bonilla, creative director for the club, shared her reasoning for joining the club as, “I just love the idea of women in power just by the fact that I was raised by a single mother, my mom played the two roles…We could have more power if we encourage ourselves…” The club will meet Mondays at 4 p.m. in HSS room 203 on the main campus. Elise says that it was important to meet in the afternoon so that students who work during the day could also attend.
The club spent part of their second meeting discussing potential club projects that will allow members to establish a portfolio by having each member use their talents to contribute to various media projects. Elise made a point of telling members that they don’t need to wait for the club leadership to announce a project and that if a member wants to publish their work on the website, that they can so long as they help or volunteer at least once a month.
The club is interested not only in advancing their own careers and giving each other a hand, they are also interested in giving back to the community. A large part of the meeting was in deciding how best to give back to the community. Ultimately, they decided on volunteering at an art exhibit on May 12 hosted by “A Window Between Worlds,” an organization that helps victims of domestic violence by providing art therapy. In addition, they are also planning on making care packages to help homeless women living in shelters.
As a result of the ICC being unable to fund clubs during the summer, Elise and the club are coming up with other ways to fund Women in Media during the summer months, including brand partnerships and creating monetized videos on social media platforms. Given that the end of the semester is approaching at SMC, time is running out for submitting a proposal for funding to host an event. Despite the ticking clock, Elise is eager to have the club host an event as a way to reach out to the SMC students and get the club’s name out there.
The Women in Media Club may be one of the newest clubs at SMC, but they’ve already hit the ground running. On May 17 the club co-hosted a movie night at the Cayton Center on the main campus with the Intersectional Feminist Alliance and the Gender Sexuality Alliance. They’ve also arranged for Canadian Aboriginal Director, Michelle Latimer, to come speak at SMC in the Fall.
“When you’re a woman it’s important to uplift other women… so I saw this group as a great chance to help other women", said Alexa Fox, vice president of the Women in Media Club. "I’m just starting my career in film and I want to be able to help other women start their career in other media majors.”