The College Television Awards' Nominee Summit with Outlander and Dancing with the Stars Executives
For students without industry experience or connections, the dream of breaking into television may seem daunting. In an effort to help talented young storytellers lay a foundation for their careers, the Television Academy Foundation is committed to offering hands-on education and industry access for young aspiring creators through The College Television Awards. The ceremony which was held on Saturday, March 16 honored student-produced projects from different universities in various categories.
Ahead of the show, students participated in a three-day informative nominee summit that gave students the opportunity to network with industry professionals over a breakfast hosted by FilmLA.
In attendance were former College Television Award winners as well as executives from STARZ and BBC Studios. During the breakfast, students were greeted by the Television Academy Foundation staff and leaders while they enjoyed themed panel discussions. Two of the sessions from the summit included informative topics such as: "A Conversation with Creators" with Outlander's Executive Producer Toni Graphia and Senior Vice President of Original Programming at STARZ, Karen Bailey, as well as "27 Seasons and Counting: The Making of a Reality TV Hit" with Dancing with the Stars Showrunner and Executive Producer Andrew Llinares and Co-Executive Producer Deena Katz.
Students received invaluable information about building their careers and enjoyed listening to the challenges and joys of the inner-workings of television. "The amount of information that we've received as well as the people that we got to meet has been amazing," said Ryder Chasen a student from Northwestern University nominated in the Variety Category. Panel discussions aside, the students also participated in speed-dating style networking opportunities with seasoned writers, animators and directors – several of whom are alumni of the College Television Awards - who were thrilled to offer industry advice. "Coming in, we knew that the [summit] was going to be great but it has been beyond great," Chasen said with a smile.
Click here to view all the College Television Award nominees and winners.
