Freelance Filmmaker, Maximilian Reid ’11, On Creativity and the Benefits of Living a Full, Fascinating Life

Maximilian Reid is an LA-based filmmaker.  He is also an intellectual—a multifaceted, creative thinker, a man of many skills, and an all-around remarkable person.

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Maximilian Reid, Film Production ’11

A year and a half ago, a recently graduated Max moved to LA, where he says he was happy to work on set for free in order to begin gaining experience and building his résumé. Now, Max says the tricky part, “is knowing when to say, ‘No thank you.’”

Max advises anyone interested in a similar career path to “Spend your time deliberately and your money wisely.”  In the film industry, the route to success often starts as a production assistant.  “And for most people that’s the right path, “ he says. “It’s where I started.  But I’ve found that progress depends on luck, ingenuity, and personality.”

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Stan Piekarski, ’90: Work, Passion, Goals, Guitars . . .

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Stan Piekarski graduated with a BA in Media Communications in 1990.  He is now a Sound Designer at Visiontracks, Inc., a St. Louis-based, full-service multimedia production company specializing in video/audio production, multimedia programming, live events, web design, media marketing, e-Learning, and interactive video training.   Stan also gives back to Webster by partnering with the Center for Portfolio Development & Internships to host School of Communications student interns.

We asked Stan to give us a better idea what it is that he does, and how he advises those who’d like to follow a similar career path. Continue reading →

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Chelsea VandeDrink, ’06, Records Philip Glass in World Premier at Cincinnati Orchestra

Chelsea VandeDrink, graduate of the department of Audio Aesthetics and Technology, has recorded Philip Glass’ important new work “Cello Concerto No. 2, Naqoyqatsi” with cellist Matt Haimovitz. This newly released recording is now being featured on iTunes. It is Chelsea’s fifth CD for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where she is the recording engineer. Read more about the music here.

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A Bigger, Bolder and Stronger School of Communications

“It is the single best, single most important time there has ever been to study communication and media, the most important time in the history of our field to be teaching communication and the most fraught time there has ever been to be practicing communication. . . . We will be building a bigger, bolder, stronger School of Communications of the future—recognizable as the Webster School we have known and loved, but grown up, muscled up, and achieving a national reputation for leadership in global communication education.”

Read more here, and please join us all in extending a warm, wonderful welcome to the new dean of Webster University School of Communications, Eric Rothenbuhler.

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Like Social Media? How Maggie Gravier ’12 Networked Her Way Into a Job

Meet Maggie Gravier, 22 year-old Photographer at goBRANDgo!, St. Louis, MO.  She also owns her own photography business, Margaret Gravier Photo.

Maggie Gravier graduated from Webster with a BA in photography in Spring, 2012.  But before the ink even dried on her diploma, Maggie had already landed a permanent job as a social media/marketing specialist, which quickly developed into much more.  How, exactly, does that happen?  Five words:  Maggie is a networking machine.

Network Network Network and then Network some more

“In the past year, I have become completely obsessed with social media sites,” Maggie says.  “I have a Facebook page, a page for my photography, Foursquare, two Tumblr blogs, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, a profile on Rawartists.org, and Twitter.”  In fact, Maggie landed her current position as a direct result of a twelve-character tweet.

Wait.  What?

“During my senior year at Webster, I did a lot of research on people in the photo and social media spheres in St. Louis.  Jim, being the owner of a video/marketing company was one of those.  We first made contact through social media outlets and then kept in contact through those outlets.  I’ve never been one who can sit still for long, so the week after graduation I was on the job hunt.  I posted on Twitter, ‘I need a job.’  Within minutes, Jim sent me a message asking if I was serious!  We set up an interview for the next week, and BAM!  I became the Social Media and Marketing Specialist at Parabolic Media.” Continue reading →

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How Whitney Gelnett ’10 Landed a Full-Time PA Job in Los Angeles

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Whitney Gelnett (BA, Film Production, 2010) took a leap of faith this year when she packed her bags and headed west to Los Angeles. It took some dogged determination but after four months Whitney landed her first full-time gig. She shares her story and some advice for those looking to follow in her footsteps with SCAN:

I need to preface this by saying that this is by no means all you need to know about getting a PA job. This is just how I did it. I was asked to answer these questions in an interview with a friend of mine and figured I’d post them to spread a bit of what I’ve learned out here so far to those of you back in St. Louis or those of you who are curious. Hope it proves useful :)

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