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Student broadcasters caught the Olympic spirit By
Shannon Hawkins To most, the Olympic Spirit is one of achievement, of reaching goals long worked for, and obtaining dreams long sought for. This winter, the Olympic Spirit was applied to the athletes that graced Utah's snow-covered mountains and pristine ice sheets. However, the Olympics offered more than just athletes a unique opportunity to come a little closer to their own goals. Communications students throughout the state of Utah were able to come a little closer to their own goals in February when the 2002 Winter Games came to Salt Lake City. The students were able to gain real-life experience in the field of broadcasting and experience what it's like to be a part of one of the biggest sporting events in the world through the broadcast training program offered by International Sports Broadcasting. As the Host Broadcaster, International Sports Broadcasting (ISB) was responsible for providing all the Olympic footage to broadcasters from around the world. President of ISB, Manolo Romero wanted to include students in communications in this process. "By being a part of the paid production crew of one of the world's largest sporting events, students will command attention and respect from future employers. ISB is thrilled to provide a springboard from which these students can launch their careers," said Romero in an article posted on the official 2002 Olympic website. The Broadcast Training Program recruited approximately 375 students largely from Utah colleges and universities to fill the jobs of camera operators or assistants, audio assistants, graphic operators, commentary operators, and loggers among other things. Depending on the job, students were required to complete one to three communication courses at their schools and attend one- to five-day workshops. ISB describes the workshops as a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on experience. Mark Stocking, a communications major at Utah State University, said he appreciated the workshop he attended in May. "The workshop was really great," he said. "They really helped me prepare for what I'd be doing at the Olympics. It gave me a chance to get familiar with the equipment I used during games time." During the games, students worked at every venue and some non-venue locations including the International Broadcast Center (IBC), the headquarters for broadcasting operations for ISB and almost 80 other broadcasters from around the world. Jim Owens, director of the broadcast training program said students would be benefitted by obtaining good resume material, professional experience, a list of new contacts, and international experience from working with people from many different countries. According to ISB, it was the goal of the training program to provide advanced training in production to college students interested in the field. "This is an opportunity of a lifetime for local students to 'get their foot in the door' in this extremely competitive field," Romero said. Students agree the training program and working alongside professional broadcasters has been a great opportunity to increase their knowledge of broadcast in a unique way. Not only did students learn much about broadcast, but they learned a lot about life as well. For many, it was their first broadcast experience in the "real world." As a logger, Jennifer Colwell from Weber State University spent her time in the IBC, mingling with many different professionals. Besides trading pins with international broadcasters, Jen enjoyed working with professional in the field and said she learned a valuable lesson from them. "I was surrounded by professionals. I learned about what it takes to be in this field. Many of the professionals I worked with were very helpful in training me, and showing me what the 'real' world is like. But there were also those who did not behave professionally. I found that if I behave like a professional, then I was treated as one. Behavior is the key." Students are not the only ones who had a positive experience from the program. "Overall the professionals seemed very pleased with the students. Due to the high praise, Athens Olympic Broadcasting is continuing the program," Owens said. "My experience with the students while working at ISB was nothing but positive," said Christian Galdabini, a highlights associate producer. He said ISB did a great job in selecting "a mature, competent and hard-working bunch. As producers we could count on them to do their job well and then to relay any info we requested. Their enthusiasm translated into lots of good knowledge and a fun working atmosphere." Besides having a valuable one-time experience, students believe working for ISB will create more valuable opportunities in the future. "I feel this experience will be very helpful to me in having a career in communication," Jen said. "I know that I cannot lean on this experience to get me whatever I want career-wise, but I can use this to further my experience. I can stand on my Olympic experience to reach other goals." The students were grateful for such a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to work at the Olympics, but not just from what they learned from it. They enjoyed its monetary value as well. Maja Krakowiak is a graduate student in mass communications at the University of Utah. She said of her experience, "I got paid a nice sum of money, met some interesting people and had a lot of fun. Mostly, it was nice to see that people could actually make a living while working for media companies. It gives me hope that perhaps I will not end up living on the sidewalk after all." Apparently, many students gained a sense of hope for the future after this experience, certainly a dream worth achieving. The Broadcast Training Program gave students more than simply a great opportunity, something good to add to their resume, or more experience in their field. It gave them a sense of the Olympic Spirit, a feeling of contributing to something great and experiencing something many people will never have the chance to know. It gave them memories that will last a lifetime. According to the ISB website, Romero created the program "in order to leave a human legacy." Perhaps he achieved that, for as Jen said, "I think the best part of working the Games is that I got to contribute to something the world will remember." She echoes the feelings of many students.
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