FROM: Jen Dunaski (RTV-11-04)
TO: Kevin Seguin-Scollin, Director of Placement
SENT: Aug. 3, 2005

Rumor has it that you get pretty upset when graduates of Specs Howard don't keep in touch. I figured if I waited much longer than I would probably be on your naughty list. Now is a better time than ever to email you because, as of yesterday, Aug. 2nd, I have a job!

On June 17th, I graduated from Specs with a video certificate and ironic enough, I now have a radio job. It may have something to do with the fact that I have been continuing my internship at WRIF with Drew & Mike. Although, I had my video demo done I wanted to make a radio demo as well. I began putting words and songs together for a demo while the guys at Riff continued to critique me. When I finished, I email it off to Kalamazoo as an mp3 with my resume attached, and not even a day later I had an interview set up with Jay Deacon, Program Director of 107.7 WRKR.

The job was mine on the spot. I was scared and nervous and felt like it was all happening so fast. But when I really thought about it I realized that this is exactly how it is supposed to happen. It's not happening too fast because if I wasn't ready, I would not have sent in a demo and resume.

The job I now hold is on-air overnights on Saturdays and Sundays. Within a few weeks of practice, Jay is confident that I will be good enough to fill in for other DJs. Talk about a SHOT social life... but it is so worth it to me. I chose Kalamazoo because if you don't remember, I have decided to continue my education at Western Michigan University to get a degree.

Of course, Jay knows I will be attending school and we will have to work around a schedule but I am sure everything will be fine. It is no doubt that this next year is going to be hectic and tiring but I am confident that it is what I want and where I should be. Thank you and Specs Howard for all of your help. I will talk to you soon.

FROM: Kade M. Siebold (RTV-06-04/Video & RTV-12-04/Radio)
TO: Dick Kernen, VP of Industry Relations; Kevin Seguin-Scollin, Director of Placement
SENT: August 01, 2005

It's been a wild ride since my graduation. I came home (to Lafayette, LA) knowing about a job opening at our local CBS affiliate, KLFY-TV. I went to the station the day after I returned and was hired to work on the production crew.

The second day on the job, the morning news anchor was behind schedule and needed help editing a package while she finished writing news copy. The show was about 34 minutes from being on the air. When she walked into a room with six crew members -- four of which have worked there for a total of 66 years -- to ask if one of us could help her, everyone stood there with "Shaggy-Do" lost faces and said, 'None of us know how to edit.' (That is, no one except me.) Now my employeers know that I was trained WAY better than the other fellas in the crew.

The next day, I was approached by the sports director ... hearing of my editing skills, he asked me if I wanted a few more hours shooting B-Roll and editing local high school football highlights. It goes to show that limiting your skills and being lazy don't pay real well.

A week later, I had another interview at KPEL 1420 AM Sports Radio ESPN. The interview took less than a minute before the guy said, 'Come by Wednesday to fill out your paperwork.' I will be working as a board operator and serving as News and Sports Anchor.

I'm not saying it will be that easy for everyone, but keep the faith in yourself and your skills and you will be golden. I learned every last broadcasting skill except my sports delivery at Specs Howard. That's where you started and it happens to be where I did too.

I moved all the way from South Louisiana to come to Specs. That's another key element -- be willing to be relocate. Always remember what Dick Kernen teaches you. Keep your eyes on the ball and you will get what you deserve.

FROM: Matt Magee (RTV-09-02)
TO: Kevin Seguin-Scollin, Director of Placement
SENT: June 13, 2005

Just writing to let you know that I made my on-air debut last night on Oldies 104.3 WOMC! I've been board opping a couple overnight voice-tracked shows a few days a week and have been bugging Steve Allen, the PD, for a chance to go on live.

I guess the squeaky wheel really does get the grease because I walked into the station last night and there was a memo on my mailbox telling me that it was all mine! Don Phillips called me and said that I sounded good too! Rumor has it that Dick Purtan is actually feeling intimidated after hearing me on the air! I guess hanging in there for 3 years has finally paid off... Having fun!

FROM: Julie McKinnon (RTV-03-92)
TO: Dick Kernen, VP of Industry Relations
SENT: January 2004

I want to thank you for the very important words of wisdom you gave my class. The very first day, you stated,"If you are not going to be aggressive in this business you should leave."

I took that advice and ran with it from that day forward. I'll briefly describe my career path since I graduated.

92-93 | Started internships at Joe Louis Arena (jumbotron crew as camera operator) and WKBD-Fox 50 (as news desk assistant).

94-95 | Worked as audio utility for ABC Figure Skating Championships and started floor directing for the broadcast feeds. I kept in touch with the production managers, crew managers and expanded my work from hockey to basketball and every other sporting event that came to Detroit. I wanted to be more marketable in broadcast production and learned other crew positions to increase my freelance work. In the freelance world, you are as good as your last job. I worked and made a great living as floor director, audio utility, tape operator, and still store operator until I relocated to San Fransisco.

96-97 | I made some friends and contacts in the Bay Area and made the move to a larger market. The year I lived in the Bay Area, I continued to work for the networks as floor director and audio utility. I acquired work from the in-house feed at Candlestick Park as still store operator and for the SJ Sharks operating tape.

I was intrigued by the film and television business as I often drove by the "Nash Bridges" set in SF. I found out where they were filming, gave my card to the assistant director and started working the next day as production assistant.

Grad Julie McKinnon (left) worked on the set of Torque (2004) as a stand-in for actress Jaime Pressly (right).

98 | I made the move to L.A.

99 | Joined the sound untion local 695 and worked as cableperson.

01-04 | Member of the Screen Actors Guild and currently work as an actress.

Reflecting on my career I see that you, Uncle Kernen, helped pave the way for me from the beginning and for that I owe many thanks!

FROM: Nik Rajkovic (RTV-14-01)
TO: Dick Kernen, VP of Industry Relations
SENT: February 17, 2003

After graduating, I found myself a news anchor gig at WMIC Sandusky, MI. It was the kind of job, and time in my life, where I found out who I really am. I moved from the cozy suburbs of Metro-Detroit to a farming town in the "thumb" with less than 1,000 people. I read stories about farm accidents, city council meetings and daily obituaries -- all the kinds of stories I was warned about while in school. Thank you for getting me ready.

In April 2003, I landed a small news reporter/anchor job in the nice Lake Michigan beach towns of St. Jospeh/Benton Harbor. At first, my daily routine mirrored that of my first job. Then came an early morning motorcycle accident on June 16. A high-speed police chase ended when the biker hit a curb and flew into the side of a house and died.

I covered my weekly city meeting that night with expectations of more local government goobily glop. Boy, was I surprised when about 100 friends of the dead motorcyclist stormed Benton Harbor City Hall demanding justice for their fallen friend.

These people threatened to riot "Rodney King style" and accused the police of racism and brutality. The sound-bytes I recorded with my trusty mini-disc recorder and mircrophone were priceless! In fact, those people did riot that night. They burned buildings, broke windows and threw rocks and bricks at Sheriff's deputies and police officers.

My "two year learning process" then accelerated and so began the busiest week of my career so far. The next night, I covered another night of civil unrest by cell phone as my neighbor drove my car through the turmoil with me in the passenger seat. They threw more rocks and burned more buildings -- a couple homes on opposite sides of an intersection, setting a nice scene for local television crews and newspaper photographers.

Seconds after I finished a live report, the driver's side window exploded all over my friend and I, and as he slumped at the steering wheel, the car veered toward a mob of angry residents.

At this point, our only thoughts were to get out alive and we headed toward a spot where we saw some state troopers setting up camp. Out of the darkness came 20 flashlights held by riot-geared police officers that stormed my car and pulled us out by gunpoint. They promptly handcuffed us and led us to the curb. Meanwhile, one jumped in my car and parked it around the corner of a burning house.

An officer noticed my friend had been shot in the back of his left shoulder, then swept him away in some military vehicle and headed for the hospital -- leaving me by myself, handcuffed on the curb in the middle of chaos. Even as I explained my position at the radio station, I knew in the back of my mind these officers were busy with something a little more important. So I kept my mouth shut and waited to get out of there.

I was eventually arrested for "unlawful assembly," transported by a shot-out mini van with no windows, glass all over the seats with six other rioters accompanying me. I spent the night in jail with the people I was reporting on.

Lucky for me, my station manager has lots of connections in this town and I was released without incident the next morning. My friend is fine by the way. He has fully recovered from the gunshot.

Upon returning to work, I was bombarded with calls from Michigan Radio Network, some station in Pittsburgh and countless TV and radio stations throughout "Michiana". It seemed like every story I wrote was old news before it aired. I felt almost drunk as new details turned into State Police/FBI press conferences while I watched the words I wrote two nights earlier scroll across the television on cable news stations.

I was happy to hear my employers tell me I "nailed it," meaning my sound-bytes and storytelling brought the trouble on the streets into every car or home stereo. They were, and are, still happy with my progress here.

Thank you for getting me ready for the real world of broadcasting -- those little mundane stories I tinkered with at Specs and in Sandusky, helped me focus on larger tasks later on.

FROM: Lauri Plesco (1987)
TO: Dick Kernen, VP of Industry Relations
SENT: Oct. 15, 2002

I moved to Atalnta when I graduated and six months later got a job working for the Mayor (US Ambassador Andrew Young) as his producer. I worked with him during the 1988 Democratic Convention.

After that I did freelance shooting for Coca-Cola, TBS and IBM. Coca-Cola sent me to the Bahamas to shoot their annual party on a cruise ship and at 22 years old that was a nice treat!

Then I started working on feature films as a grip and later dolly grip. Female grips are REALLY rare, especially in the South! At the time I think there were 4 female grips; one in LA, one in Dallas, one in Boston and me in Atlanta.

One of my first features was "Kalifornia." At the time, all the actors except Juliette Lewis were "nobodys" and now David Duchovney is a big star and so is Brad Pitt. I actually ended up staying with Brad Pitt after "Kalifornia" was over for about 3-4 months and then moved back to Atlanta - I can't believe that now he is a huge star! But that's the way this industry is, as you know - you'll never know who will make it big!

I worked a lot of features as a dayplayer because it was more lucrative to float from one feature to the next rather than being tied down to a feature and worrying about the next gig and it's pretty common to do this too. Some of the features I dayplayed on were "Boomerang," "A Simple Twist of Fate," "Dances with Wolves," "The Real McKoy," "Boxing Helena" and I worked for years on "In the Heat of the Night" (television series).

I miss features but they are hard work! I have a lot of friends who worked on "Sweet Home Alabama," which just came out and when you see all their names in the credits, it's about the biggest thing you miss!

I later worked as a commercial producer at a local Fox station but I liked being a freelancer better so I went back to freelancing.

During all this, I would also freelance as a teleprompter operator and in 1989 bought one so this kept me busy during slow seasons. At 25, I started to get a bad back from carrying dollys up and down the stairs and working 16-hour days in the rain and snow got old. So when I was 29, I decided to get out of features and go full-force with teleprompting. (It is really hard to get out of features - everyone says you can't break in and then when you do, you can't get out. But I did.)

Now I own the biggest teleprompter rental house in the Southeast; Peachtree Prompters with offices in Atlanta and Nashville. I own about 20 teleprompters and have 6 freelancers regularly working with me. I have worked with the President of the United States, Jane Fonda, you name it! (Yes, people actually do make a living as teleprompter operators.

Well, that's the short of it!

FROM: Jessica Markee (RTV-06-00)
TO: Staff
SENT: July 18, 2001

Hey, I'm sure you'll all remember me. I'm the one that came all the way from Nebraska to attend school there in Michigan.

Well, after graduating in February of this year, after taking both radio and television concentrations, I've accepted my second position in the business. Can you guess where I'm at? Back home in NEBRASKA!

I am now the traffic director for KFRX, Lincoln's Hit Music. It's wonderful. I want to thank everybody who helped me along the way. My time there couldn't have been better for a smalltown farm girl moving to a huge city.

And for you, future students and graduates, don't ever give up. Stay on the "clue bus" and remember this is your future. Hey, I did it and I'm only 19 years old.