Portfolio Center Blog: Press Release

COLUMBIA ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL INDUSTRY NIGHT

CHICAGO, IL - Columbia College Chicago, the country’s largest college of arts and media, is pleased to announce its second annual Industry Night–a college wide professional reception where the Chicago creative community at large is invited on campus to meet with the newly graduated students.

“Industry Night was hatched in 2008 as a chance to turn the tables on most college job fairs,” says Columbia College Portfolio Center director Tim Long. “The goal here is to obliterate the divisions between the different majors and present the students with a real world, real time networking opportunity.”

Since the initial event, Columbia College has expanded the night to include 14 receptions that showcase their students, bringing together members of the music, film, fashion, advertising, public relations, marketing, and performance community to meet with and inspire the roughly 2,000 students graduating.

“Career paths in creative fields are guided by relationships. What we are trying to do here is give students the social tools to begin building relationships that will continue throughout their creative career,” says Long. “We want our students to think about their work critically, to be comfortable talking about their passions and to be informed about industry expectations and timelines.”

The night was successful for Daphne Karagianis, now associate art director for interactive design agency Digitas; it helped her land a job. “I was excited to graduate but didn’t really know what I was going to do,” says 23 year old Karagianis “I had worked on my portfolio and was diligent meeting with people throughout my senior year, but to have an event where the industry came to me gave me an amazing amount of exposure.”

It was here that Bill Matznick, associate creative director for Digitas, met Karagianis along with more than 150 advertising, art and design students. “What was nice about Industry Night for us was that we really had an opportunity to engage with the students on our terms, in their backyard. The event was very forward thinking and the students seemed to rise up to that idea. To see so much young talent was encouraging, to see them in a real world format made it that much more exciting.”

Josh Modell, managing editor for The Onion’s AV Club, feels much the same, “We find more and more writers and photographers from Columbia and the way that the college positions itself is really interesting. The idea of networking, focusing on producing good work and educating the students on how to talk about their work is so much fresher–and more useful–than the notion of a grayed-out job fair.”

Industry Night is an initiative of Columbia College’s Portfolio Center. A one-of-its-kind resource center that aids students in the understanding, definition and execution of their portfolio materials; hiring fellow classmates in the construction and execution of their books, websites, business cards, CDs, or reels. The center also looks to get students engaged with industry as early as possible for feedback on those materials, bringing in recruiters and experts to talk about their expectations and experiences.

Industry Night functions as an extension of that philosophy. The events are lively and happen in real time. Those students who are interested in working in the music business promote a show at a local club; those interested in a career in dance host a cocktail hour with the dance community before a recital concert; students with a degree in fiction writing hobnob not only with publishers but also journalists and PR companies. The divisions are not academic, rather real world.

“It is so important that the outside world is not an abstract for these students,” says Portfolio Center creative industry liaison Caroline Cook Juhlin. “That they can meet with established professionals and see that what they are dreaming of is obtainable, that it might not be the out-the-gate home run we all hope for, but if you work hard, stay connected and follow through… anything is possible.”

Industry Night opens May 14th 2009 runs in concert with Columbia College’s Manifest Urban Arts Festival (May 15th, 2009) and is part of the college’s commencement weekend.

ABOUT COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO

Columbia College Chicago is an urban institution committed to open access, opportunity and excellence in higher education, provides innovative degree programs in the visual, performing, media and communication arts to nearly 12,500 students in over 120 undergraduate and graduate programs, including film & video, art & design, arts management, television, radio, music, interactive multimedia – all within a liberal arts context. Founded in 1890 as a communications school, Columbia College Chicago was revisioned in 1963 as a liberal arts college with a “hands-on minds-on” approach to arts and media education and a progressive social agenda. Under the current leadership of President Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D., Columbia is aggressively pursuing this mission. Columbia is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The college is accredited as a teacher training institution by the Illinois State Board of Education. For further information visit www.colum.edu.

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For more information, high-resolution photos or to schedule an interview please contact Mercedes Cooper (mcooper@colum.edu) or call (312) 369-8612