Alumni Live: The Podcast

Current student Caitlyn Shaw talks with Alumni Mike Judd (1999) about his work as an Assistant Director and Director on “Young Sheldon”.  Mike discusses the daily life and challenges of an Assistant Director on a popular television series. Sharing insights on the winding path of moving from Michigan to Los Angeles, working as a production assistant on major feature films, and navigating the proces...

GVSU film student Marin Roth talks with her dad, Representative John Roth (R), co-author of the Multi-Media Jobs Act. They talk about the positive impact the bill will have on the Michigan economy and film students in particular while offering advice about what everyone can do to help the bill pass. Relevant Links About the Multimedia Jobs Act: https://mifia.org/multimedia-jobs-act-details   About...

Host Randy Strobl (‘12) talks with Tim Dailey (‘08), about his journey from VFX Artist to Academic Dean of Exceptional Minds. Exceptional Minds is a nonprofit academy and post production studio for people with autism. Links: Exceptional Minds: https://exceptional-minds.org/ Tim Dailey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-dailey-23428862 To support GVSU film and video students by donating...

Current student Elena Chiu talks with award-winning, multiply Disabled, queer, horror and documentary filmmaker Ariel Baska about their short films, “Our First Priority,” and “Shining in the Dark,” the challenges they face as a disabled filmmaker, their podcast, “Ride the Omnibus,” and how to create a more accessible industry. Website: https://arielbaska.com/   Ride the Omnibus: https://www.omnibu...

Current FVP senior, Jeff Staub, talks with Geoff George, a cinematographer and Education Outreach Chair with the Michigan Film Industry Association (MiFIA), about the Multimedia Jobs Act introduced in the Michigan legislature. Geoff explains how the film incentive worked in the past, how it’s different now, and why it’s so important to bring it to Michigan. MIFIA: https://mifia.org/   Write Legisl...

Alumni Michele Terpstra talks with alumni Wendy Jo Carlton about her career writing, producing, and directing award winning LGBTQ themed films. Wendy Jo explains the distribution process for an indie film, why she doesn’t write coming out stories, how to succeed as an independent filmmaker, her thoughts on AI, and why she likes creating web series. LINKS: Wendy Jo's Website: https://www.juicyplane...

Host Randy Strobl talks with Grand Valley State University alumni Jaz Edwards, Jamie Bartkowicz, and Jim Taylor about their experiences with unions. Jaz explains how she joined IATSE Local 476 in Chicago, Jamie explains why she hasn’t joined a union, and Jim explains what it means to be on the Casual List for a union.  This episode was recorded prior to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Jaz Edwards l...

Host Randy Strobl talks with Grand Valley State University alumni Dan Campbell about his work as a freelance feature film producer at Blue Falcon Productions. They discuss how Dan’s experience as a Marine influenced his approach to college, his first paid job after graduation, his experience working on the Summer Film Project, and the satisfaction of starting his own production company. Dan Campbe...

Host Randy Strobl speaks with Brad Mead about his journey from LA TV series Assistant Editing to Editor which started with his internship with ACE (American Cinema Editors). To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-film-and-video-1162.htm To join the LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8258882/

Host Jake Wiegand (‘21) speaks with alumni Jon Flis (‘02) about the many jobs available to film and video majors in the world of broadcasting. Jon is the Director of Marketing for WZZM 13 On Your Side. Jake works for Jon as a Marketing Producer. Jon's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/promoguy To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/givi...

The Women in Cinema Mentorship Program is a female-run mentorship program connecting female alumni in the film/media industry with current female students in the GVSU film program.  Today we connect with a mentee, Kira Mason ‘23, and a mentor, Sara Jo Tchozewski ‘16, from the first year of the program. Hosted by Katie Dehn ‘06, the mentorship director.  If you are interested in becoming an alumni...

Studies show that mentorships can have a big impact on a mentee’s salary, career path, and overall happiness in their careers.  Today, Katie Dehn talks with Gerry Cooke about the benefits of mentoring for students and the professional mentors that volunteer to mentor.  Gerry has spent almost a decade as a mentor and is currently the director of mentorship for the Seidman school of business mentors...

Host Randy Strobl speaks with alumni Holly Tumbarello about how informational interviews were the key to building her career. Randy Strobl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-strobl-40223895/ Holly Tumbarello: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollytumbarello/ To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-film-and-video-1162.htm...

To view a video of this episode complete with archive photos and videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHtUTZprWU Alumni and faculty talk about the 40 plus year history of the Grand Valley Film & Video Production major and what has made it unique. Part 1 explored the early years of the Arts and Media major at William James College, which was part of Grand Valley State Colleges. Part 2 explo...

To view a video of this episode complete with archive photos and videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHtUTZprWU Alumni and faculty talk about the 40 plus year history of the Grand Valley Film & Video Production major and what has made it unique. Part 1 explores the early years of the Arts and Media major at William James College, which was part of Grand Valley State Colleges. Part 2 explo...

Host Randy Strobl leads a discussion with Alfredo Peters about opening a studio and launching Higher Faculty, his YouTube channel with 69.7K subscribers as of Nov 2022, all while balancing work and family life. Higher Faculty on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HigherFaculty To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-...

Alumni Randy Strobl talks with Karl Koehle and Kirie Quackenbush about working in the game industry. Videos referenced in the episode:  The Sims 4 - StrangerVille: Investigation Trailer UW-Stout " Umbrella Mondays " game trailer To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-film-and-video-1162.htm To join the FB group: GVS...

In this profile episode, Mary Graff Ashley talks with host Randy Strobl about her experience creating promos and behind-the-scenes content for King Kong, The Hobbit, and Lost. Mary currently works for Walt Disney Television in Los Angeles. Here's a link to the Peter Jackson King Kong Production Diaries mentioned on the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-wZmh4Jc5g To support GVSU film and vide...

Host Katie Dehn speaks with alumni Jil Szewski about how to deal with sexual harassment on a production set. Jil works in the Art Department on shows such as Bel-Air and How to Get Away with Murder. She is a member of IATSE, and owns Blue Revised, a company that provides resume, cover letter, and interview consulting specifically for the motion picture and television industry. Jil Szewski on IMDB...

Host Katie Dehn leads a discussion with Jamie Bartkowicz, Scott Sheppard, Kelly Loughlin, Talon Rudel, and A.J. Bedard about moving to LA after graduating from GVSU. To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-film-and-video-1162.htm To join the FB group: GVSU F/V Alumni Facebook Group

Join Michele Terpstra, GVSU Film/Video Alumni Board Member, for a conversation with Sarah Ford, a GVSU Class of 2018 alumni, about how she collaborated with Eric “Callab” Carter and other local artists to create a music video during the beginning of the pandemic. Here’s a link to the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfx3wZ01Mmw To support GVSU film and video students by donating to sch...

In this Alumni Live Profile episode, host Randy Strobl interviews Chris Gagnon to see what the film and video alum has been up to in recent and distant years. Chris talks about the time he video blogged riding a bicycle from coast to coast in the United States with his brother and his current work making videos with his neighbors in Malawi. Chris Gagnon's YouTube Chris and Amari's Patreon site To...

Host Joe McCargar talks with alums Bryen Hensley and Sean Quashnie about the intricacies of working in production, broadcast, and post production sound. To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-film-and-video-1162.htm To join the FB group: GVSU F/V Alumni Facebook Group

Joel Potrykus, class of 1999, talks with Charles Beale and Jake Bowen, both class of 2011, about their experience in the world of making movies with small budgets and “Studio Fest” the unique film festival they created. Here's the link to StudioFest: https://studiofest.com/ To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-fil...

Host Stacy Walsh (& Then Write) interviews Jeremy Howe (Young Sheldon) and George Kitson (Agents of Shield) about their work as writers for television. To support GVSU film and video students by donating to scholarships and fellowships: https://www.gvsu.edu/giving/give-now-film-and-video-1162.htm To join the FB group: GVSU F/V Alumni Facebook Group