Welcome to Alumni Live, the podcast.

These are conversations with Grand Valley State University film and video

graduates about the industry, the film, video major, and alumni profiles.

This episode is brought to you by the Chuck Peterson Memorial Fellowship.

The fellowship was established by Chuck Peterson's family and friends to assist

upper level students in the film and video program at G V SS U, who are working

on creative projects that support the nonprofit sector in their community.

Kyle Macciomei, the 2020 recipient of that fellowship, describes the

benefits of the support he received.

When going

through this fellowship, there are three separate parts of yourself that I think

get to experience a lot of development.

The first is, as a student, because this is a learning process, you get to learn

how to work with a client, on your own, independently out in the world, away

from the classroom like you would in something like Producing for Clients.

And the second one would be as a video maker, as a video producer, as someone

who has respect for the work that they're doing and wants to improve on

themselves and produce a final product that can be used out in the real world.

And then the third one would be, as a citizen, you know, you're not making

video for an entertainment value or for some kind of commercial purpose.

It's for a nonprofit, it's for a direct benefit in your community.

And being a citizen of that community, understanding how you can directly impact

and improve it, is a really valuable experience that I think the fellowship

teaches you to be as, as a student, as a filmmaker, and as a citizen.

All three of those things are directly a part of this process that

you get to learn and ask yourself.

How do I wanna be seen and how do I wanna act as these three roles?

For more information and to donate to the scholarship, visit the link in

the description now back to the show.

Hello and welcome to another Alumni Live: The Podcast.

I'm Katie Dehn.

I am the President of the Film and Video Alumni.

Network board at Grand Valley State University.

Today, we are covering a subject near and dear to my heart, and that is the

Women in Cinema Mentorship Program that I have the privilege to direct.

Today we're gonna be talking with two amazing women who have been a part of the

inaugural launch of the program last year, where we'll be first speaking with Kira

Mason, who is a brand new graduate on her experience as a mentee in the program.

Later we'll connect with Sara Jo Tchozewski, who was

a mentor in the program.

So thanks for joining us and enjoy the show.

Kira Mason is a brand new GVSU film grad as of April, 2023.

While she was at GVSU,, she interned for the GVSU Film and Video Alumni

board, and was Co-Founder and President of the Women in Cinema Student

Group and VP of the French Club.

Her emphasis in the film and video program was fiction filmmaking.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Kira.

How are you?

I am great.

Thank you for having me.

Oh, our pleasure.

So, Kira, first off, congratulations on graduating.

That's a big deal.

What are your plans this summer?

I mean, we're, we're already partway through the summer, but what's been going

on?

So my biggest priority right now is relaxing because I've been in

school my whole life, and so this is my first time not being in school.

So I am figuring out some hobbies and stuff like that.

But other than that, the one film project I'm working on right now

is I'm co-producing the Grand Valley Summer Film Project, which

is directed by Joel Potrykus.

Last year I was on the summer film as production coordinator in charge of

meals and transportation, so now I'm co-producing that alongside Breana Malloy.

Who's a semi recent Grand Valley alum who's a Producer at

Ingles Pictures in Grand Rapids.

So I'm learning from her about more of the legal side of filmmaking.

But my role on that right now is I'm in charge of the equipment

rentals and production purchases and logging receipts and stuff like that.

And then I also sort of help run the class meetings aspect of

it, and I'm making sure all the departments are running efficiently.

Other than that summer film project, I am helping a couple friends on

their short films this summer and I also work part-time at Target

'cause I gotta make money somehow.

Right.

Don't we all?

So it sounds like you were relaxing a little bit, but it does sound like

you're pretty busy and that's awesome.

You're working with Breana Malloy.

She's actually one of our mentors, so That's so fun.

Mm-hmm.

Let's dig in and talk more about the Women in Cinema student group that you

were the Co-Founder and President of.

So talk to me about

that.

So Women in Cinema is a student org at GVSU.

It's for women and gender non-conforming students in the film program or students

who are just generally interested in film.

I was recruited by you, Katie and Suzanne Zack, to help start the club

with another student, Charlie Montgomery.

We wanted to create the club because roughly 50% of film students are

women, but that is obviously not represented in the film industry at all.

It's very much dominated by men.

So we were hoping that by giving underrepresented film students a

space to develop their skills and form connections, we could help them have a

better chance of success in the industry.

We hosted alumni guest speakers, we watched movies, played games.

Had informational meetings about film history and influential female filmmakers.

My favorite event that we had was an equipment workshop where we practiced

setting up lights and recorded sound and used a camera that's

used in upper level film classes.

And we also collaborated with the new screenwriting club at that meeting.

So we actually shot a one page scene that they wrote together.

We ran it like a real film set and a lot of the students we had there

had never actually even been on a set before, like they were still

in the beginning film classes.

So that was a great experience for them.

Felt like we all bonded together at that meeting 'cause we were all making

something together and we were also getting comfortable with equipment

that usually the male students hog in class, like the especially sound

and camera and lighting and stuff.

Personally, I had almost never used any of that stuff and I was a senior

when I was in that club, so it was definitely a learning experience for me.

So I know it was for all the other students as well.

But let's talk about how the Women in Cinema student group

ties in with the Women in Cinema

Mentorship program.

Yeah, so the mentorship program last year was only available for students

who were in the Women in Cinema Club, and if they wanted to participate,

not all the students in the club did.

If they wanted to participate, they were paired with a mentor

who had similar interests to them.

So, for example, my interest is producing, so I was paired with

Christina Choriatis, who's a Media Producer and Editor based in New York.

Since the mentorship program and student org were new last year.

We didn't know right away exactly how to integrate them together

other than the students being in the club and also having the mentors.

But by the second semester, we learned that we needed to check in with the

students throughout the semester to see how it was going to see if they had any

issues with their mentor or whatnot.

At the end of the school year, we all sat around together and we did some

coloring pages and we talked about our experiences with our mentors.

So we shared what we learned and stuff, and that was really cool to

learn from the other students what they had learned from their mentors.

Oh, I wish I could have been a

fly on the wall during that meeting.

And that is a good thing to note.

This has only been our first year with the mentorship program alongside

Women in Cinema student group.

So there was a lot of learning, but I think it's only gonna

improve each year that we grow.

So prior to this mentorship program, had you ever been formally mentored

before?

I had never had a mentor before.

And I think that before this mentorship, the only like industry

professionals I had ever met were the Cinematographer and Sound Mixer on

the Summer Film Project last year.

And I didn't even really work with those people.

So Christina, my mentor, was pretty much the first industry

professional that I had met one-on-one and actually talked with often.

Were you nervous to meet her?

And how did you overcome

that?

I did have some nerves at first.

Um, I was nervous that we wouldn't really click well together because

like meeting a new person in general is pretty nerve wracking.

And I also didn't know exactly what to expect from the mentorship.

I didn't know if it was just gonna be like professional, like a

professional relationship or if we could somewhat move past that and

talk about more personal things.

But I was definitely more excited than nervous.

I was looking forward to making a connection with someone in the industry

who wasn't one of my peers or a professor.

I don't mean to say that I was just viewing it as like a networking

experience, but I knew that it was my first step towards networking

and my first step towards connecting with other people in the industry.

And so I feel like it definitely boosted my confidence and now I feel

like I can network with other people.

But most of all, I was excited to learn about what it's like to actually work

in the industry, because being a film student the industry is still so far

away and it's hard to even imagine what it's like to work in the industry.

And I was also looking forward to learning about all the

career paths that I could take,

'cause the film industry is so broad and there's so many different jobs you can do.

So I was just excited to learn about one of the many career paths I could take.

So what did you guys

talk about in your meetings?

We talked about a lot of things.

One thing that we talked about was her whole career path and where,

and how she got to where she is now.

So it was interesting to hear about all the interesting ways that she found jobs

other than just through a job listing.

And also during our mentorship, her job contract ended, so I got to learn about

some of the struggles that come with searching for a new job and also what

it's like to transition into a new role that's different from your previous one.

And I think my favorite part of the mentorship was getting

a lot of help on my resume.

When I was applying for an internship, I had applied for an internship with

the Television Academy Foundation.

Unfortunately, that internship was canceled this summer

due to the writer strike.

Oh.

But yeah, so I don't know if I would've gotten picked, but I was a

finalist for it, which is pretty cool.

And I probably became a finalist because of my resume that Christina had helped me

with, so that was definitely very helpful.

At the time that I was making my resume, I'd only had two film adjacent jobs, so I

wasn't sure how to describe my other jobs in a way that would make them appealing

for someone in the film industry.

So she helped me rewrite that and also pick out skills to put on my resume.

And then we also talked about some more personal things like burnout,

which I was really struggling with in the fall semester of my senior year.

And I know that a lot of other students go through that too.

So some things that Christina taught me about that was learning

not to check emails on the weekend or not checking emails after

a certain time in the evening.

And also to take real breaks, like actually take breaks from

your work and do something fun.

Just like watch a TV show that doesn't take a lot of brain power.

A lot of those things I'm actually utilizing now and it's helping

me to not get burned out again.

So that was one of the most valuable things that I learned from my mentorship.

I feel

like I need to take notes because yeah, that's definitely something

all creatives struggle with, so I'm so glad she covered that with you.

Did you have any goals that your mentor

helped you achieve?

Uh, one of the goals from the beginning was my resume.

So we, we crossed that off the list and then another one of the goals was

learning about the real world in film.

So I definitely learned about that through seeing her journey through finding a

new job and seeing her transition into a new job, and also learning about her

career journey and just hearing about

how she got jobs through random connections, stuff like that.

Overall, the film industry is really huge and complicated.

So through the mentorship, I just generally feel like I have

a somewhat better understanding of what to expect going into it.

So that was one of the goals that I had from the beginning.

What would you

say to a student thinking about working with a mentor, but they

aren't sure if it's worth it, if it, if it's gonna be helpful

to them?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I totally understand that uncertainty, but something I've come

to understand is that you can learn something from anyone you meet, even

if they're not working in the same film department that you're interested in.

Or even if they're not in film at all, you can learn something from everyone.

For any student who's considering a mentorship, just go for it because

it never hurts to meet new people.

And I know it's a little scary to meet a quote unquote industry

professional as a student because you don't know nearly as much as them.

But just know that mentors are volunteering to be mentors because

they genuinely want to help you and because they have knowledge that

they want to pass on to students.

So just go

for it.

So what have been some of the best parts of having a mentor?

I think one of the best parts and one of the most invaluable parts is just

learning all the nuances of what it's like to work in a particular industry,

like for the film industry specifically.

Learning about being a W2 employee versus being an independent contractor.

Like that stuff is not covered in classes at all.

So it's really, it's really valuable to learn from someone who's working

in the industry about that and also about how you can get jobs through

any connection and most jobs are not found from a job listing online.

That's one of the most valuable things I've learned.

Learning all that stuff just makes me feel a little more comfortable

about going into the industry, so I think that every student should

be able to have that experience.

There's a lot of students out there who don't always take advantage of

mentorship programs or who don't take the time to seek out getting a mentor.

So having a mentor kind of puts you a step ahead of a lot of your peers,

which is really important going into a competitive industry, but

also you can share what you learn.

With your friends or with your peers, so that's really valuable too.

Also, a mentorship is not just a networking opportunity, but your

mentor can connect you with other people working in the industry.

Christina, my mentor, she connected me with a Creative Producer in New York

who I did an informational interview with, and I learned a lot from her.

Before meeting her, I'd never even heard of being a Creative

Producer, but now I know that that's something that I wanna aim for.

So I'm really glad that I had met Christina and that she connected me with

someone else who could teach me something.

Do you think you'll

keep in touch with Christina now that you've graduated?

For sure.

Something we didn't get around to talking about during the school year that we had

planned to was what it's like to move to a big city because Christina moved from

Michigan to New York and I'm planning to move to Atlanta later this year, so I know

that I could reach out to Christina at any time to ask for some advice about that.

And it's also a little comforting to know that I know someone in New York

in case I ever end up moving there.

I can reach out to her and just at least get a cup of coffee with her or something.

Maybe I can even shadow her at her job or something like that.

So yeah, I definitely think that we're gonna keep in touch throughout the years.

In the future,

would you wanna become a mentor to a film

student?

Definitely, and I'm really looking forward to the time in my life

when I know that I have enough knowledge where I can mentor someone.

'cause obviously I'm, I'm not ready to do that yet, but I really hope that

I can help students in the future.

Well, I'm definitely

keeping your contact information, so I will be reaching back out.

So is there anything else you'd like

to share?

I think my only piece of advice for film students is to always be open to

new experiences, film related or not.

Because you never know what you'll learn or who you'll meet.

Next up, we have Sarah Jo Tchozewski talking about being a mentor.

We are here today with Sara Jo Tchozewski, Sara Jo is a native to Grand Rapids,

and is a 2016 film and video grad.

Since her time at GVSU, she has worked as a Lead Audio Engineer, and Project

Manager, a Marketing Director, and most recently as the Digital Content and

Community Manager at Bell's Brewery.

Over the last year, she has been a mentor for the Women in Cinema

Mentorship Program, it's first year.

So thank you so much for joining us today, Sara Jo.

How are you doing?

I'm great.

Thanks for having me today.

So excited to be

here.

We are excited to have you.

So, Sara Jo, you have never been a mentor before this year, is that correct?

Yes, that is

correct.

What made you decide to join the Women in Cinema Mentorship Program as a mentor, I.

Well, having

gone through the film program from 2014 to 2016, there were definitely times when

I was the only woman in the classroom, and I did feel like at times there was

no one there to be an advocate for me.

So when I heard about the mentorship program, I really felt like I

could help be that person to female filmmakers in the current program and

really work to bridge divides that I felt existed during my time at GVSU.

That is awesome.

I'm glad you had a passion for it.

I think a lot of the other mentors did too and and had that similar feeling

that there was just something missing that they wanted to fill that gap.

So I do wonder though, leading up to your first meeting with your mentee,

did you have any fears or anxieties and how did you overcome those?

Yeah,

absolutely.

I think like many, I felt anticipatory anxiety prior to the meeting.

I'm sure the same is very true for that of my mentee.

I.

I think what helped me the most was just recognizing and calling name

to the nerves upon our meeting.

I think it's really important to just voice with one another that those initial

meetings can feel intimidating, but that's to be expected and that we would find

our groove as the meetings progressed.

But yeah, certainly I think those are all very valid feelings and

totally natural for both the mentor and the mentee to have.

So did you do any prep work before that

first meeting?

Mm-hmm.

Yes, I did.

For preparation.

I really just took the time to go over the mentorship handbook ahead

of time, and then we walked through it together at our first meeting.

I think it can be hard to establish goals with somebody you're just

meeting for the very first time.

So that first meeting centered primarily around walking through areas

of interest in film and video, just the types of media that we personally

consume, and just walking through why we were both drawn to the group.

Awesome.

So that was all in your first meeting.

You kinda walked through the handbook and what you were interested in.

Was there anything else you guys did in

that first meeting?

We really just got to know each other a little bit.

I shared a little bit about my life and where I've come from and my experience

with film and video and just primarily wanted to hear from her really what

her goals were, what she could identify as places she'd like to improve and

grow throughout the program, and also just have that conversation.

To recognize that a lot of those things will be developed as we go, and we don't

have to have those answers all right now.

Now you're in Grand Rapids.

Were you able to meet in

person?

Yes.

I've been meeting with my mentee in person for every meeting.

Oh, that's awesome.

Now we do have a lot of mentors that aren't able to meet in person, so

meeting virtually is also a great option.

And we did all of our training virtually as well, so I know if there's any mentors

out there that aren't in Grand Rapids, virtual is also a great option, but if

you're still local, it is so much fun to meet up with students in person.

Where did you guys meet up?

We actually met up at the Grand Valley Library.

It's been a really great place for us to meet up.

It's like halfway between where I used to live when I was a GVSU

student and then where I live now.

So it's kind of great to just kind of go back and take a look around the

campus and be able to connect there.

It's very nostalgic talking about my experiences with the film program.

Being in the same library where I was studying during that program.

So it's honestly been quite lovely to be able to be there.

Do you have any

tips on how you connected with your mentee over the mentorship?

Like talking about activities you did with your mentee, you had mentioned

to me journal prompts and things like that, and where did you find inspiration

for those types of activities?

Well,

just leaning into our relationship and learning what type of communication

my mentee most benefits from, we found that it would be very helpful

to put together an agenda just a couple of days before the meeting.

I will say that this agenda acts very much less as a rule

book and more as a field guide.

So it's definitely important to me that we make time and space for situational

conversation and really take the time to address anything that my mentee might be

currently facing outside of that agenda.

As for activities and prompts, we did do a lighting prompt, which was super fun.

We recreated lighting from a painting using found light, and then we

also limited it to five photos, so we couldn't take too much time

worrying about what those look like and really just focus on capturing

them in their natural environment.

And then each semester too, we've also watched a film separately and

come together and talked about what we found most compelling, unique.

And even what we didn't like about the film, just to kind of break down

why we are compelled by the types of cinema that we are, and really also

open ourselves up to sharing other forms of media, like music videos,

shorts, just any type of medium that is compelling to us in talking about why.

And then you mentioned the journal prompts, which has really been a

great way for us to build trust and get to know each other over the

course of these past two semesters.

So these journal prompts have been focused on the goals surrounding that semester.

So the first half we focused on building and identifying ways

to craft that creative identity.

So a lot of the journal prompts that we had for that semester were around painting

a self portrait with words and really identifying what about the work that we're

doing feels the most necessary and real and important to us, and having a strong

understanding of the personal beliefs that guide us when we create content.

Whereas the second half of the semester, we've been very focused

on journal prompts that help us apply our interests to professions

and internships in the real world.

So a lot of those prompts are about when it comes to film and video production,

what types of problems we wish we could solve, in what ways film challenges us,

inspires us, and even drains us, and really identifying what points in that

process are the most compelling to us.

So a lot of the journal prompts have been conceptualized just on my own,

based on our goals and conversations.

But other times I've just done a simple search on the internet to see

what we could lean into really just attaching it to real world action and

finding unique ways of self-expression.

And then also too, because I'm answering these journal prompts, I

have to put myself in that position of, is this a really hard question?

Is this an easy question?

And it's been a really good way for me to identify if it's an actual

valuable journal prompts, because if I'm sitting there having to

think about it, I know she is too.

So it's been really beneficial for both of us to get to know each other.

Wow,

that is so much information you just gave and a lot of inspiring

ideas for future mentors.

One thing that stuck out is this idea of watching movies separately and then

coming back, talking about it together.

How did you guys pick those movies and what movies did you guys watch?

Yeah, so we had a shared interest in anime as a whole.

So for the first semester, we focused on a non-linear movie called Your Name.

Which is a lengthy anime, but it is told in different sections,

and it is told in separate points in time, three years apart.

So we picked this one because it was A, a romance, which is

very interesting to my mentee.

B, a shared interest because it was anime.

But C, a really great masterclass and how we tell stories in

a sense, it's non-linear.

So that was a super incredible movie to watch together and kind of dissect about

what we liked and what we didn't like.

And then this semester we are watching a sci-fi horror movie we're watching.

Nope.

Which I'm sure many people have seen.

Oh yeah.

Um, so really just I, the first half the semester I, found that

shared common interest with anime.

And recommended "Your Name".

I'd only seen it once a couple years ago, and then this semester

neither of us had seen "Nope."

And it was of interest to my mentee to watch this film, so she picked that one.

So it was really natural and easy to select the films,

which I'm very grateful for.

That is so fun.

I just love that idea so much because that's, I mean, we got into the film

program because we love film and media, so of course sharing it makes so much sense.

It sounds to me like you are a successful mentor.

And I'm wondering, what do you think it takes to be a successful mentor, and what

would you say to someone thinking about becoming a mentor but they don't feel

qualified?

Well, first off, thank you.

That's very kind of you to say.

I would just say generally that self-doubt is a very natural

part of the mentorship process.

From my perspective.

I often ground myself by recognizing why I am here.

Which is ultimately to serve the goals of the mentee.

My decision to volunteer is my own knowing, my personal and professional

bandwidth, and having dedicated my time to the program as an act of choice.

Whereas with my mentee, I remind myself how difficult college was

at times with commitment to classes and work and personal interests.

I really feel that the mentees of this group are giving a lot of emotional

energy to other commitments, and at the end of the day, It is my goal to be able

to say that this mentorship program was something that helped to rebuild that

emotional bandwidth rather than drain it.

So although you might not feel qualified at times, ultimately it's our goal as

a mentor to be able to offer support, act as listeners, and really identify

those areas where we can be the ones to actively offer support and

when appropriate, also challenge our mentees to think beyond their typical

perspective.

What has been some of the most rewarding parts for you as a mentor so far?

Well, the most rewarding part for me has been watching the stages of work that

my mentee has had across this semester.

So going over different stages of a group project or an edit or a piece of work,

and really just seeing how it evolves has reminded me greatly about what I

love about film, which is collaboration and ways of learning through.

Stakes and missteps.

So I am just so consistently impressed by the caliber of work that my mentee

is producing while also having the grace and balance to discuss those

opportunities for personal growth.

I think it's a really great reminder that we have a lot to learn from one

another, and that this mentorship program is not just a one-way street.

It offers us just as many opportunities for growth and professional development

as we're hoping to offer to those mentees.

Is there anything else that you'd like to share about the program or just

your relationship with your mentee?

I would just say to someone who is considering joining the group as a

mentor, I highly recommend taking the leap, although scary at times,

I will say it has been incredibly rewarding and I really just can't

speak highly enough of the program.

Thank you so much, Sara Jo, for your time, and I look forward to what you

bring to the mentorship program next year.

Thank you so

much.

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you so much for having me.

It's been an absolute joy and I'm so excited to be able to continue

this program into next year.

If you're interested in joining the Women in Cinema Mentorship Program,

please reach out via Facebook to the GVSU film slash Video alumni page.

Or if you're interested in joining the student group, Women in Cinema, you can

check out their Instagram page at GV Women in Cinema, or be sure to check

out the Laker Link website where they have all of the student organizations

listed, including Women in cinema.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Alumni Live: The Podcast.

Subscribe to our podcast to hear more from our alumni across the industry.

Check out Alumni Live on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more

conversations and networking.

Let us know what topics you want to hear our alumni talk about.

The Grand Valley State University Film and Video Alumni Network is here

for you, and we're glad you're here.

Thank you for listening.

This episode is brought to you by, The Dirk Koning Memorial

Film and Video Scholarship.

Here is Gretchen Vinnedge remembering Dirk Koning.

The Koning Scholarship enables students to get that kind of an education, to be

a good filmmaker, to be able to express their voice, and to continue Dirk's dream.

For more information and to donate to the scholarship, visit

the link in the description.