STUDENT STORY

“I’ve wanted to get into the media and entertainment industry since I was 12 years old. When I came to Wayne State University, I started searching for a way to make that dream happen. Talking to advisors helped me come to the conclusion that the broadcast journalism major would give me a background in media communications, which could help me fit into a ton of different roles that I’m interested in.

I got to hit the ground running with Wayne State’s curriculum. During my freshman year, I got to make a five-minute documentary as part of my production class. They gave us camera, audio and lighting equipment and let us make a video on anything we wanted. It was my first big creative project — we didn’t really have classes in high school that let me use that much creativity — so that experience was really rewarding.

Since Wayne State is in Detroit, the networking opportunities are incredible. People who work in the entertainment industry are always coming on campus to find students who study journalism and TV. Just by having Wayne State attached to my name, potential employers know what kind of skill set I’m getting.

The faculty at Wayne State is really great too. One of my professors, who’s an executive director and producer of an actual TV show, is a one-stop shop for all things getting into the entertainment industry. She knows a ton of people all over the U.S. in journalism and television and has been an amazing resource for finding jobs and internships for us. I have a lot of connections right now. Once I get my undergrad degree, I’ll be in a position to get right into the workforce.

I would not have been able to go to school if it weren’t for financial aid and scholarships. I was given a lot of scholarships coming into Wayne because of my grades and ACT in high school. Wayne State also had advisors that walked my mom and me through the FAFSA application process. There’s an entire website of scholarships that people can apply for, and it doesn’t take a ton of time.

My advice to people thinking about college would be not to freak out about what you want to study. There’s such a wide range of things to go into and you don’t need to pick it out right away. I hear from so many kids who are scared of school because they don’t want to go into science, math, history or English. Then I find out they’re amazing artists or musicians, and I tell them that there are great programs to study those things too.”

(Delainie, Wayne State, Broadcast Journalism)