Mentorship

Transcript

Looking around campus, you’d be surprised, there aren’t many of those big lecture-style classrooms you may see on other campuses, that’s on purpose here. At SHU, the student to faculty ratio is 14 to one. SHU professors take the extra step to help all their students succeed. My friend, Tomas from the school of communication, media and the arts is at the Martire Center for the liberal arts and can tell you a little more about the amazing professors here. Tomas, please take it away.

– Thank you, Alex. So, I am a rising senior here at Sacred Heart University in the communications program. I did not start my college experience at Sacred Heart but I found myself transferring to Sacred Heart University for a more personalized college experience. Professors have an open door policy here at Sacred Heart, which allows students to drop in at certain times during the day to talk about classes, projects, films, anything that comes to mind that has to do with academics. I took full advantage of this program and found myself being mentored by several different professors in several different specialized fields. I was able to utilize all the information I accumulated from these programs and put it out into different projects. “Sentinels of the Boreal” was a film I produced, filmed and directed, and it was a project that I worked on on my junior year of Sacred Heart University. This film helped me cultivate relationships with internationally recognized brands, such as Canon USA and Tamron optics. This film also helped me get relationships with internationally and nationally recognized organizations such as the National Audubon Society. Sacred Heart’s SCMA program was integral for the success of this film as it not only allowed me to reach out to certain grants and foundations to accumulate money, but also allowed me to meet with these professors who had been out in the field and had that professional experience so I could get my foot in the door in the professional field once I graduated. One of my professors was a big influence and guiding force, as he not only told me how to tell a story but also taught me how to obtain funding, which helped move the project along. Another one of my professors showed me how to use the footage that I had accumulated over the course of the project and put it into a way where the project flowed and the film was at its best. SHU’s dean of the school met with me weekly and his willingness to help me not only invigorated me, but also inspired me to keep on going. This film helped me get a foot in the door with organizations like PBS Nature and National Geographic and also created a piece that I’m very proud of. Thank you for letting me tell my story, Alex. Now back to you.

– Tomas, can I get your autograph? It’s so great that your professors went above and beyond to help you with your documentary, but that’s normal here at SHU, right? No matter your program, the faculty gets to know every student and mentors them for a successful future as a working professional. Take care, Tomas.