“I thought the event was just an overall amazing experience,” Mayra Maradiaga, junior and communications major at Pace University said. “You could tell that everyone loved working there and really cared about the audience being comfortable and having a good time.”
Maradiaga and other students were able to experience this live taping because of Melanie J LaRosa, who just started teaching at Pace University in the fall. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Media, Communications, and Visual Arts Department on the Pleasantville campus. However, she’s taught college for ten years prior to accepting this position. LaRosa was able to make this trip available to students through one of the show producers who invited groups of students to attend the show.
“The show is relatively new and it is common for producers to invite student audiences to live tapings,” LaRosa said. “Sometimes they do it as a way to build audiences for new shows, but they also do it to involve media students in an engaging way in the show.”
When LaRosa received the initial email inviting students, the producers mentioned that they were willing to meet with students and would accept resumes for internships.
“This is important for Pace — to constantly seek and build relationships with producers and companies for internships,” LaRosa said. “We liked that the producers offered that immediately and felt it would be a good opportunity for students to attend this show, since it is new and they will be hiring their team.”
She recognized the potential of the event, knowing that it could eventually lead to something for students who plan on going into the field. Although La Rosa is a teacher, she knows all about the business, which is why she immediately responded to the email and set up the event.
“I actually was on the other side of this job for two years before I came to Pace,” LaRosa said. “I organized college events for a journalist who had a weekly radio show on NPR and a series on PBS, and she loved having events with students because it allowed her to get out of the studio, where she spent nearly all of her time, and connect live with audiences.”
And Meredith Vieira did just that. Once the show was over, Vieira approached students by shaking their hands, socializing with them, and even taking pictures.
LaRosa was aware of the opportunities and intentionally targeted media students so that they could experience firsthand a live taping of a nationally broadcasted, network television show.
“We were there for two and a half hours for what will be an hour long show with commercial breaks,” LaRosa said. “There is nothing quite like seeing the level of coordination among producers and crew, the technology and cameras used in a live studio show, how the host interacts with producers and the audience, and how they organize audiences for good on-camera energy.”
They certainly exhibited that energy because students expressed nothing but enthusiasm after the show.
“I thought the energy was really great,” Maradiaga said. “Knowing that they cared so much about their jobs made the experience so much better.”
LaRosa was concerned overall with students paying careful attention to each person on set who was already working in the field that they wanted to pursue.
“No matter what role a student sees for her or himself on that set — host, producer, camera person, — it is important to have the experience of seeing this while you are a student, so you can learn more about the area that interests you.”
“Some of the benefits for me were just seeing the behind the scenes action that goes into filming something like this,” Maradiaga said. “As someone who wants to go into the production field, I really enjoyed and appreciated seeing how everything works. It just made me even more excited for one day being able to go into this field.”
Although it was her last semester at Pace University, Olivia Brooks, a Journalism major who graduated this fall took advantage of the trip as well.
“For me it was never really about the show, although it was done by a master of her craft,” Brooks said. “But I was more awestruck by the production team, whom without there would be no lights, camera, and action.”
Students expressed nothing but appreciation for the trip organized by La Rosa.“I think she was an amazing event coordinator,” Maradiaga said. “I feel that if I had any questions about the production process I was seeing, I would be able to ask her about it."
The episode is set to air on January 7th. For students who missed out, LaRosa has another trip planned on Wednesday, January 14th, where students can see a brand new Comedy Central show hosted by Larry Wilmore. The show is expected to air in January and Pace students will be among the first to see it.
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