Media Summit invites students to carve their own paths

The 22nd edition of SUNY Oswego’s Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit, on Thursday, Oct. 22, will host discussions about how careers in media are rewarding but rarely ever come with a clear map.

For broadcasting majors Alexis (Lexi) Primerano and Sophia Sakalis, student directors of the Media Summit, that uncertainty is exactly where this year's conversations will begin. 

With the theme “Carving Your Own Path,” the summit will bring media professionals to the Hewitt Union ballroom for a keynote panel discussion at 3 p.m. on Oct. 22, with doors opening at 2:30 p.m. Through candid conversations about career beginnings and the uncertainties, unexpected turns, and opportunities that come after graduation. The event aims to help students imagine where their own paths might lead. 

The panel will feature 1995 alumnus Andrew Miano, a film producer whose credits include A24’s “The Farewell” and Disney’s live-action “Pinocchio”; 2017 alumna Imani Cruz, a talent and content development professional who previously worked at MTV Entertainment Group; 2006 graduate Ryan Sprauge, an author, podcast creator and television host whose work includes the CW’s “Mysteries Decoded”; and Evan Hirsch, a leader in OpenAI’s work with the news industry and former NBC News senior producer. Abbey Buttacavoli, a reporter at WJAR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island, and former Media Summit student co-director, will moderate the discussion. 

For Primerano, the mission is personal. After meeting with an alumnus who worked at Nickelodeon during last year’s summit, a career she had dreamed about suddenly felt more within reach than before – she felt comforted knowing someone working in her dream industry had once been in her shoes.

“I need to work on the Media Summit because I need other students to feel this way,” Primerano said. “It made me feel like I could be at the places they were at.”

With artificial intelligence adding to students’ concerns about entering an already unpredictable industry, both Primerano and Sakalis hope hearing how professionals worked their way forward will offer students different perspectives. That same goal is reflected in the variety of voices among the panelists and career connectors. Their mission is to capture the different futures students might pursue. 

Working together

For Sakalis, a returning student director, those conversations begin with giving students room to acknowledge their fears and ask honest questions. 

“Choose to listen. Choose to learn, but also be there for one another,” Sakalis said.

That spirit has shaped the planning process too. Working alongside a student team, the directors practiced communication, delegation and collaboration while helping members contribute work connected to their career interests. As they prepare an event about finding a direction, they are discovering their own strengths along the way. 

For Sakalis, the summit’s significance also lies in the generations it brings together. 

“It’s beautiful to be in a room surrounded by the past, present and future of our school,” she said. 

For those unable to attend in person, student TV station WTOP-10 TV will stream it live via the university’s YouTube Channel, starting earlier with its traditional red-carpet pre-show.

In addition. students will have the opportunity to meet and speak with this year’s Career Connectors, more recently alumni working in the industry, who include:

• Boni Quatroche (Class of 2019), client services specialist at the Cambridge Innovation Institute in Connecticut.
• Geoff Shumer (Class of 2018), associate director of digital strategy at Pinckney Hugo Group in Rochester. 
• Alison Rushanova (Class of 2024),  social media & marketing coordinator at 43 North in Buffalo.
• Brian Rudman (Class of 2021), sports reporter at WTEN-TV in Albany. 

Panelist and connectors also will speak to classes during the day to share their knowledge more widely with the Laker family.

SUNY Oswego’s College of Communication, Media and the Arts hosts the Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit each fall. The summit was founded in 2005 by media pioneer and 1977 Oswego alumnus Lou Borrelli. In 2007, 1976 Oswego graduate Al Roker of NBC’s “Today” show became a co-sponsor of the event, which was renamed in memory of their beloved professor, the late Lewis B. O’Donnell.

For more information on the Lewis B. O’ Donnel Media Summit, visit The Media Summit Website.

– Written by Jose Vazquez Nava of the Class of 2027