Welcome to Alumni Live, the podcast.
These are conversations with Grand Valley State University film and video
graduates about the industry, the film, video major, and alumni profiles.
This episode is brought to you by the Chuck Peterson Memorial Fellowship.
The fellowship was established by Chuck Peterson's family and friends to assist
upper level students in the film and video program at G V SS U, who are working
on creative projects that support the nonprofit sector in their community.
Kyle Macciomei, the 2020 recipient of that fellowship, describes the
benefits of the support he received.
When going
through this fellowship, there are three separate parts of yourself that I think
get to experience a lot of development.
The first is, as a student, because this is a learning process, you get to learn
how to work with a client, on your own, independently out in the world, away
from the classroom like you would in something like Producing for Clients.
And the second one would be as a video maker, as a video producer, as someone
who has respect for the work that they're doing and wants to improve on
themselves and produce a final product that can be used out in the real world.
And then the third one would be, as a citizen, you know, you're not making
video for an entertainment value or for some kind of commercial purpose.
It's for a nonprofit, it's for a direct benefit in your community.
And being a citizen of that community, understanding how you can directly impact
and improve it, is a really valuable experience that I think the fellowship
teaches you to be as, as a student, as a filmmaker, and as a citizen.
All three of those things are directly a part of this process that
you get to learn and ask yourself.
How do I wanna be seen and how do I wanna act as these three roles?
For more information and to donate to the scholarship, visit the link in
the description now back to the show.
Hello and welcome to another Alumni Live: The Podcast.
I'm Katie Dehn.
I am the President of the Film and Video Alumni.
Network board at Grand Valley State University.
Today, we are covering a subject near and dear to my heart, and that is the
Women in Cinema Mentorship Program that I have the privilege to direct.
Today we're gonna be talking with two amazing women who have been a part of the
inaugural launch of the program last year, where we'll be first speaking with Kira
Mason, who is a brand new graduate on her experience as a mentee in the program.
Later we'll connect with Sara Jo Tchozewski, who was
a mentor in the program.
So thanks for joining us and enjoy the show.
Kira Mason is a brand new GVSU film grad as of April, 2023.
While she was at GVSU,, she interned for the GVSU Film and Video Alumni
board, and was Co-Founder and President of the Women in Cinema Student
Group and VP of the French Club.
Her emphasis in the film and video program was fiction filmmaking.
Thank you so much for joining us today, Kira.
How are you?
I am great.
Thank you for having me.
Oh, our pleasure.
So, Kira, first off, congratulations on graduating.
That's a big deal.
What are your plans this summer?
I mean, we're, we're already partway through the summer, but what's been going
on?
So my biggest priority right now is relaxing because I've been in
school my whole life, and so this is my first time not being in school.
So I am figuring out some hobbies and stuff like that.
But other than that, the one film project I'm working on right now
is I'm co-producing the Grand Valley Summer Film Project, which
is directed by Joel Potrykus.
Last year I was on the summer film as production coordinator in charge of
meals and transportation, so now I'm co-producing that alongside Breana Malloy.
Who's a semi recent Grand Valley alum who's a Producer at
Ingles Pictures in Grand Rapids.
So I'm learning from her about more of the legal side of filmmaking.
But my role on that right now is I'm in charge of the equipment
rentals and production purchases and logging receipts and stuff like that.
And then I also sort of help run the class meetings aspect of
it, and I'm making sure all the departments are running efficiently.
Other than that summer film project, I am helping a couple friends on
their short films this summer and I also work part-time at Target
'cause I gotta make money somehow.
Right.
Don't we all?
So it sounds like you were relaxing a little bit, but it does sound like
you're pretty busy and that's awesome.
You're working with Breana Malloy.
She's actually one of our mentors, so That's so fun.
Mm-hmm.
Let's dig in and talk more about the Women in Cinema student group that you
were the Co-Founder and President of.
So talk to me about
that.
So Women in Cinema is a student org at GVSU.
It's for women and gender non-conforming students in the film program or students
who are just generally interested in film.
I was recruited by you, Katie and Suzanne Zack, to help start the club
with another student, Charlie Montgomery.
We wanted to create the club because roughly 50% of film students are
women, but that is obviously not represented in the film industry at all.
It's very much dominated by men.
So we were hoping that by giving underrepresented film students a
space to develop their skills and form connections, we could help them have a
better chance of success in the industry.
We hosted alumni guest speakers, we watched movies, played games.
Had informational meetings about film history and influential female filmmakers.
My favorite event that we had was an equipment workshop where we practiced
setting up lights and recorded sound and used a camera that's
used in upper level film classes.
And we also collaborated with the new screenwriting club at that meeting.
So we actually shot a one page scene that they wrote together.
We ran it like a real film set and a lot of the students we had there
had never actually even been on a set before, like they were still
in the beginning film classes.
So that was a great experience for them.
Felt like we all bonded together at that meeting 'cause we were all making
something together and we were also getting comfortable with equipment
that usually the male students hog in class, like the especially sound
and camera and lighting and stuff.
Personally, I had almost never used any of that stuff and I was a senior
when I was in that club, so it was definitely a learning experience for me.
So I know it was for all the other students as well.
But let's talk about how the Women in Cinema student group
ties in with the Women in Cinema
Mentorship program.
Yeah, so the mentorship program last year was only available for students
who were in the Women in Cinema Club, and if they wanted to participate,
not all the students in the club did.
If they wanted to participate, they were paired with a mentor
who had similar interests to them.
So, for example, my interest is producing, so I was paired with
Christina Choriatis, who's a Media Producer and Editor based in New York.
Since the mentorship program and student org were new last year.
We didn't know right away exactly how to integrate them together
other than the students being in the club and also having the mentors.
But by the second semester, we learned that we needed to check in with the
students throughout the semester to see how it was going to see if they had any
issues with their mentor or whatnot.
At the end of the school year, we all sat around together and we did some
coloring pages and we talked about our experiences with our mentors.
So we shared what we learned and stuff, and that was really cool to
learn from the other students what they had learned from their mentors.
Oh, I wish I could have been a
fly on the wall during that meeting.
And that is a good thing to note.
This has only been our first year with the mentorship program alongside
Women in Cinema student group.
So there was a lot of learning, but I think it's only gonna
improve each year that we grow.
So prior to this mentorship program, had you ever been formally mentored
before?
I had never had a mentor before.
And I think that before this mentorship, the only like industry
professionals I had ever met were the Cinematographer and Sound Mixer on
the Summer Film Project last year.
And I didn't even really work with those people.
So Christina, my mentor, was pretty much the first industry
professional that I had met one-on-one and actually talked with often.
Were you nervous to meet her?
And how did you overcome
that?
I did have some nerves at first.
Um, I was nervous that we wouldn't really click well together because
like meeting a new person in general is pretty nerve wracking.
And I also didn't know exactly what to expect from the mentorship.
I didn't know if it was just gonna be like professional, like a
professional relationship or if we could somewhat move past that and
talk about more personal things.
But I was definitely more excited than nervous.
I was looking forward to making a connection with someone in the industry
who wasn't one of my peers or a professor.
I don't mean to say that I was just viewing it as like a networking
experience, but I knew that it was my first step towards networking
and my first step towards connecting with other people in the industry.
And so I feel like it definitely boosted my confidence and now I feel
like I can network with other people.
But most of all, I was excited to learn about what it's like to actually work
in the industry, because being a film student the industry is still so far
away and it's hard to even imagine what it's like to work in the industry.
And I was also looking forward to learning about all the
career paths that I could take,
'cause the film industry is so broad and there's so many different jobs you can do.
So I was just excited to learn about one of the many career paths I could take.
So what did you guys
talk about in your meetings?
We talked about a lot of things.
One thing that we talked about was her whole career path and where,
and how she got to where she is now.
So it was interesting to hear about all the interesting ways that she found jobs
other than just through a job listing.
And also during our mentorship, her job contract ended, so I got to learn about
some of the struggles that come with searching for a new job and also what
it's like to transition into a new role that's different from your previous one.
And I think my favorite part of the mentorship was getting
a lot of help on my resume.
When I was applying for an internship, I had applied for an internship with
the Television Academy Foundation.
Unfortunately, that internship was canceled this summer
due to the writer strike.
Oh.
But yeah, so I don't know if I would've gotten picked, but I was a
finalist for it, which is pretty cool.
And I probably became a finalist because of my resume that Christina had helped me
with, so that was definitely very helpful.
At the time that I was making my resume, I'd only had two film adjacent jobs, so I
wasn't sure how to describe my other jobs in a way that would make them appealing
for someone in the film industry.
So she helped me rewrite that and also pick out skills to put on my resume.
And then we also talked about some more personal things like burnout,
which I was really struggling with in the fall semester of my senior year.
And I know that a lot of other students go through that too.
So some things that Christina taught me about that was learning
not to check emails on the weekend or not checking emails after
a certain time in the evening.
And also to take real breaks, like actually take breaks from
your work and do something fun.
Just like watch a TV show that doesn't take a lot of brain power.
A lot of those things I'm actually utilizing now and it's helping
me to not get burned out again.
So that was one of the most valuable things that I learned from my mentorship.
I feel
like I need to take notes because yeah, that's definitely something
all creatives struggle with, so I'm so glad she covered that with you.
Did you have any goals that your mentor
helped you achieve?
Uh, one of the goals from the beginning was my resume.
So we, we crossed that off the list and then another one of the goals was
learning about the real world in film.
So I definitely learned about that through seeing her journey through finding a
new job and seeing her transition into a new job, and also learning about her
career journey and just hearing about
how she got jobs through random connections, stuff like that.
Overall, the film industry is really huge and complicated.
So through the mentorship, I just generally feel like I have
a somewhat better understanding of what to expect going into it.
So that was one of the goals that I had from the beginning.
What would you
say to a student thinking about working with a mentor, but they
aren't sure if it's worth it, if it, if it's gonna be helpful
to them?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I totally understand that uncertainty, but something I've come
to understand is that you can learn something from anyone you meet, even
if they're not working in the same film department that you're interested in.
Or even if they're not in film at all, you can learn something from everyone.
For any student who's considering a mentorship, just go for it because
it never hurts to meet new people.
And I know it's a little scary to meet a quote unquote industry
professional as a student because you don't know nearly as much as them.
But just know that mentors are volunteering to be mentors because
they genuinely want to help you and because they have knowledge that
they want to pass on to students.
So just go
for it.
So what have been some of the best parts of having a mentor?
I think one of the best parts and one of the most invaluable parts is just
learning all the nuances of what it's like to work in a particular industry,
like for the film industry specifically.
Learning about being a W2 employee versus being an independent contractor.
Like that stuff is not covered in classes at all.
So it's really, it's really valuable to learn from someone who's working
in the industry about that and also about how you can get jobs through
any connection and most jobs are not found from a job listing online.
That's one of the most valuable things I've learned.
Learning all that stuff just makes me feel a little more comfortable
about going into the industry, so I think that every student should
be able to have that experience.
There's a lot of students out there who don't always take advantage of
mentorship programs or who don't take the time to seek out getting a mentor.
So having a mentor kind of puts you a step ahead of a lot of your peers,
which is really important going into a competitive industry, but
also you can share what you learn.
With your friends or with your peers, so that's really valuable too.
Also, a mentorship is not just a networking opportunity, but your
mentor can connect you with other people working in the industry.
Christina, my mentor, she connected me with a Creative Producer in New York
who I did an informational interview with, and I learned a lot from her.
Before meeting her, I'd never even heard of being a Creative
Producer, but now I know that that's something that I wanna aim for.
So I'm really glad that I had met Christina and that she connected me with
someone else who could teach me something.
Do you think you'll
keep in touch with Christina now that you've graduated?
For sure.
Something we didn't get around to talking about during the school year that we had
planned to was what it's like to move to a big city because Christina moved from
Michigan to New York and I'm planning to move to Atlanta later this year, so I know
that I could reach out to Christina at any time to ask for some advice about that.
And it's also a little comforting to know that I know someone in New York
in case I ever end up moving there.
I can reach out to her and just at least get a cup of coffee with her or something.
Maybe I can even shadow her at her job or something like that.
So yeah, I definitely think that we're gonna keep in touch throughout the years.
In the future,
would you wanna become a mentor to a film
student?
Definitely, and I'm really looking forward to the time in my life
when I know that I have enough knowledge where I can mentor someone.
'cause obviously I'm, I'm not ready to do that yet, but I really hope that
I can help students in the future.
Well, I'm definitely
keeping your contact information, so I will be reaching back out.
So is there anything else you'd like
to share?
I think my only piece of advice for film students is to always be open to
new experiences, film related or not.
Because you never know what you'll learn or who you'll meet.
Next up, we have Sarah Jo Tchozewski talking about being a mentor.
We are here today with Sara Jo Tchozewski, Sara Jo is a native to Grand Rapids,
and is a 2016 film and video grad.
Since her time at GVSU, she has worked as a Lead Audio Engineer, and Project
Manager, a Marketing Director, and most recently as the Digital Content and
Community Manager at Bell's Brewery.
Over the last year, she has been a mentor for the Women in Cinema
Mentorship Program, it's first year.
So thank you so much for joining us today, Sara Jo.
How are you doing?
I'm great.
Thanks for having me today.
So excited to be
here.
We are excited to have you.
So, Sara Jo, you have never been a mentor before this year, is that correct?
Yes, that is
correct.
What made you decide to join the Women in Cinema Mentorship Program as a mentor, I.
Well, having
gone through the film program from 2014 to 2016, there were definitely times when
I was the only woman in the classroom, and I did feel like at times there was
no one there to be an advocate for me.
So when I heard about the mentorship program, I really felt like I
could help be that person to female filmmakers in the current program and
really work to bridge divides that I felt existed during my time at GVSU.
That is awesome.
I'm glad you had a passion for it.
I think a lot of the other mentors did too and and had that similar feeling
that there was just something missing that they wanted to fill that gap.
So I do wonder though, leading up to your first meeting with your mentee,
did you have any fears or anxieties and how did you overcome those?
Yeah,
absolutely.
I think like many, I felt anticipatory anxiety prior to the meeting.
I'm sure the same is very true for that of my mentee.
I.
I think what helped me the most was just recognizing and calling name
to the nerves upon our meeting.
I think it's really important to just voice with one another that those initial
meetings can feel intimidating, but that's to be expected and that we would find
our groove as the meetings progressed.
But yeah, certainly I think those are all very valid feelings and
totally natural for both the mentor and the mentee to have.
So did you do any prep work before that
first meeting?
Mm-hmm.
Yes, I did.
For preparation.
I really just took the time to go over the mentorship handbook ahead
of time, and then we walked through it together at our first meeting.
I think it can be hard to establish goals with somebody you're just
meeting for the very first time.
So that first meeting centered primarily around walking through areas
of interest in film and video, just the types of media that we personally
consume, and just walking through why we were both drawn to the group.
Awesome.
So that was all in your first meeting.
You kinda walked through the handbook and what you were interested in.
Was there anything else you guys did in
that first meeting?
We really just got to know each other a little bit.
I shared a little bit about my life and where I've come from and my experience
with film and video and just primarily wanted to hear from her really what
her goals were, what she could identify as places she'd like to improve and
grow throughout the program, and also just have that conversation.
To recognize that a lot of those things will be developed as we go, and we don't
have to have those answers all right now.
Now you're in Grand Rapids.
Were you able to meet in
person?
Yes.
I've been meeting with my mentee in person for every meeting.
Oh, that's awesome.
Now we do have a lot of mentors that aren't able to meet in person, so
meeting virtually is also a great option.
And we did all of our training virtually as well, so I know if there's any mentors
out there that aren't in Grand Rapids, virtual is also a great option, but if
you're still local, it is so much fun to meet up with students in person.
Where did you guys meet up?
We actually met up at the Grand Valley Library.
It's been a really great place for us to meet up.
It's like halfway between where I used to live when I was a GVSU
student and then where I live now.
So it's kind of great to just kind of go back and take a look around the
campus and be able to connect there.
It's very nostalgic talking about my experiences with the film program.
Being in the same library where I was studying during that program.
So it's honestly been quite lovely to be able to be there.
Do you have any
tips on how you connected with your mentee over the mentorship?
Like talking about activities you did with your mentee, you had mentioned
to me journal prompts and things like that, and where did you find inspiration
for those types of activities?
Well,
just leaning into our relationship and learning what type of communication
my mentee most benefits from, we found that it would be very helpful
to put together an agenda just a couple of days before the meeting.
I will say that this agenda acts very much less as a rule
book and more as a field guide.
So it's definitely important to me that we make time and space for situational
conversation and really take the time to address anything that my mentee might be
currently facing outside of that agenda.
As for activities and prompts, we did do a lighting prompt, which was super fun.
We recreated lighting from a painting using found light, and then we
also limited it to five photos, so we couldn't take too much time
worrying about what those look like and really just focus on capturing
them in their natural environment.
And then each semester too, we've also watched a film separately and
come together and talked about what we found most compelling, unique.
And even what we didn't like about the film, just to kind of break down
why we are compelled by the types of cinema that we are, and really also
open ourselves up to sharing other forms of media, like music videos,
shorts, just any type of medium that is compelling to us in talking about why.
And then you mentioned the journal prompts, which has really been a
great way for us to build trust and get to know each other over the
course of these past two semesters.
So these journal prompts have been focused on the goals surrounding that semester.
So the first half we focused on building and identifying ways
to craft that creative identity.
So a lot of the journal prompts that we had for that semester were around painting
a self portrait with words and really identifying what about the work that we're
doing feels the most necessary and real and important to us, and having a strong
understanding of the personal beliefs that guide us when we create content.
Whereas the second half of the semester, we've been very focused
on journal prompts that help us apply our interests to professions
and internships in the real world.
So a lot of those prompts are about when it comes to film and video production,
what types of problems we wish we could solve, in what ways film challenges us,
inspires us, and even drains us, and really identifying what points in that
process are the most compelling to us.
So a lot of the journal prompts have been conceptualized just on my own,
based on our goals and conversations.
But other times I've just done a simple search on the internet to see
what we could lean into really just attaching it to real world action and
finding unique ways of self-expression.
And then also too, because I'm answering these journal prompts, I
have to put myself in that position of, is this a really hard question?
Is this an easy question?
And it's been a really good way for me to identify if it's an actual
valuable journal prompts, because if I'm sitting there having to
think about it, I know she is too.
So it's been really beneficial for both of us to get to know each other.
Wow,
that is so much information you just gave and a lot of inspiring
ideas for future mentors.
One thing that stuck out is this idea of watching movies separately and then
coming back, talking about it together.
How did you guys pick those movies and what movies did you guys watch?
Yeah, so we had a shared interest in anime as a whole.
So for the first semester, we focused on a non-linear movie called Your Name.
Which is a lengthy anime, but it is told in different sections,
and it is told in separate points in time, three years apart.
So we picked this one because it was A, a romance, which is
very interesting to my mentee.
B, a shared interest because it was anime.
But C, a really great masterclass and how we tell stories in
a sense, it's non-linear.
So that was a super incredible movie to watch together and kind of dissect about
what we liked and what we didn't like.
And then this semester we are watching a sci-fi horror movie we're watching.
Nope.
Which I'm sure many people have seen.
Oh yeah.
Um, so really just I, the first half the semester I, found that
shared common interest with anime.
And recommended "Your Name".
I'd only seen it once a couple years ago, and then this semester
neither of us had seen "Nope."
And it was of interest to my mentee to watch this film, so she picked that one.
So it was really natural and easy to select the films,
which I'm very grateful for.
That is so fun.
I just love that idea so much because that's, I mean, we got into the film
program because we love film and media, so of course sharing it makes so much sense.
It sounds to me like you are a successful mentor.
And I'm wondering, what do you think it takes to be a successful mentor, and what
would you say to someone thinking about becoming a mentor but they don't feel
qualified?
Well, first off, thank you.
That's very kind of you to say.
I would just say generally that self-doubt is a very natural
part of the mentorship process.
From my perspective.
I often ground myself by recognizing why I am here.
Which is ultimately to serve the goals of the mentee.
My decision to volunteer is my own knowing, my personal and professional
bandwidth, and having dedicated my time to the program as an act of choice.
Whereas with my mentee, I remind myself how difficult college was
at times with commitment to classes and work and personal interests.
I really feel that the mentees of this group are giving a lot of emotional
energy to other commitments, and at the end of the day, It is my goal to be able
to say that this mentorship program was something that helped to rebuild that
emotional bandwidth rather than drain it.
So although you might not feel qualified at times, ultimately it's our goal as
a mentor to be able to offer support, act as listeners, and really identify
those areas where we can be the ones to actively offer support and
when appropriate, also challenge our mentees to think beyond their typical
perspective.
What has been some of the most rewarding parts for you as a mentor so far?
Well, the most rewarding part for me has been watching the stages of work that
my mentee has had across this semester.
So going over different stages of a group project or an edit or a piece of work,
and really just seeing how it evolves has reminded me greatly about what I
love about film, which is collaboration and ways of learning through.
Stakes and missteps.
So I am just so consistently impressed by the caliber of work that my mentee
is producing while also having the grace and balance to discuss those
opportunities for personal growth.
I think it's a really great reminder that we have a lot to learn from one
another, and that this mentorship program is not just a one-way street.
It offers us just as many opportunities for growth and professional development
as we're hoping to offer to those mentees.
Is there anything else that you'd like to share about the program or just
your relationship with your mentee?
I would just say to someone who is considering joining the group as a
mentor, I highly recommend taking the leap, although scary at times,
I will say it has been incredibly rewarding and I really just can't
speak highly enough of the program.
Thank you so much, Sara Jo, for your time, and I look forward to what you
bring to the mentorship program next year.
Thank you so
much.
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been an absolute joy and I'm so excited to be able to continue
this program into next year.
If you're interested in joining the Women in Cinema Mentorship Program,
please reach out via Facebook to the GVSU film slash Video alumni page.
Or if you're interested in joining the student group, Women in Cinema, you can
check out their Instagram page at GV Women in Cinema, or be sure to check
out the Laker Link website where they have all of the student organizations
listed, including Women in cinema.
Thank you for joining us for this episode of Alumni Live: The Podcast.
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The Grand Valley State University Film and Video Alumni Network is here
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Thank you for listening.
This episode is brought to you by, The Dirk Koning Memorial
Film and Video Scholarship.
Here is Gretchen Vinnedge remembering Dirk Koning.
The Koning Scholarship enables students to get that kind of an education, to be
a good filmmaker, to be able to express their voice, and to continue Dirk's dream.
For more information and to donate to the scholarship, visit
the link in the description.
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