Life after graduation is a big question mark for the some 7 thousand student tribe of Southern Oregon University. EmCon is one of the ways SOU addresses the big question of what’s next.
One of the highly anticipated events of SOU’s Indie Media Week, the second annual Emerging Media Convention, or EMCon, was held May 1 – 2.
Originally created as a way for students to network and showcase their work, EMCon has evolved to include panels and workshops that educate participants on topics ranging from how to get a job after college and how to properly network on social media.
The event kicked off with a presentation by Adobe’s Megan Kirkwood, who stressed the importance of, “…owning your shit, stand by your work and never throw people under the bus.” Here lies the heart of EMCon, a two day event that aims to educate students on the inner workings of the business world.
EMCon held multiple panels that featured local artists, educators, students, filmmakers, radio hosts, journalists, video game designers and a plethora of other professions all sharing their insights in how to be successful after graduation.
Panels included a discussion on campus media, copywriting for artists, professional development, crowd funding, gaming and administration, life after college, a workshop on how to create a triumphant project, as well as learning how to collaborate professionally.
Day 2 saw the event that gathered the most attention was Artist Alley, an event in which participating students set up displays in the Stevenson Union and showcased the projects they have been working on over the past year. “I’ve been going to school with everyone here and its cool to finally see everything they’ve been working on and see how I match up,” said Casey Jones an SOU student, 3D designer and animator.
“I have so many more interests it’s hard to zero in on just one,” said Jen Greenfield an SOU student studying EMDA creative marketing and founder of Jenny Penny Painted Faces. Diversity seemed to be the word that best described the various projects students were showcasing. It was a rarity to see participants who only had one area of focus. Each stand displayed a wealth of different interests and skills, these ranged from comic books, zombie music videos, animations, games and many others.
The Emerging Media and Digital Arts program is still fairly new to SOU, but it seems to be finding itself. Events such as EMCon have allowed the program and its students to show what the EMDA has to offer the university.
For more information on the history and planning of EMCon read our preview of it here: https://siskiyou.wpengine.com/2015/04/22/sous-second-annual-emcon/
