CCD career crawl takes Owls behind the scenes

Inaugural arts and entertainment tour introduces students to jobs in creative fields

On the last day of midterm recess, a gorgeous Tuesday with nicer weather than Houston had seen in months, a group of Rice students climbed aboard a bus bound for downtown. Their destination: the Alley Theatre, the first of three stops they’d make on the inaugural arts and entertainment career crawl organized by the Center for Career Development (CCD).

A panel of artisans at the Alley Theatre spoke about their career paths on the first stop. (Photo by Katharine Shilcutt)

While their peers enjoyed a final day of rest before heading back to classes, this group including chemistry majors and architecture students alike met with leaders in Houston’s arts and entertainment landscape. Their goal: learning about careers in creative fields.

At the Alley, artistic associate Brandon Weinbrenner led a behind-the-scenes tour of the theater’s production of “Twelfth Night” and introduced a panel of Alley artisans to the students, who learned about the math involved in lighting design and the ingenuity involved in constructing props. At the Asia Society Texas Center, director of education and outreach Michael Buening offered a glimpse into the machinery involved in running an arts-centered nonprofit and allowed students to absorb its “New Cartographies” exhibit, which touches on everything from economic migration to refugee movements.

And inside the studios at KTRK-TV, reporter Christine Dobbyn allowed the students to remain on set for the live 3 p.m. news broadcast, which followed a tour of the station itself. Selfies with the anchors ensued, naturally. But more importantly, the students were exposed to jobs many had never considered before the career crawl — even if their own interests were already geared toward the arts.

“As an architecture student, I believe that the space architects design is critical to shaping the experience of people, especially in places like museums and theaters that display art,” Hanszen College freshman Elina Chen said. “Before this, I didn’t know that there are so many jobs involved in making one event — like a play — happen.”

Students explored the Asia Society on the second stop. (Photo by Katharine Shilcutt)

Though it’s the first to be focused on the arts, Tuesday’s trip was the fourth career crawl the CCD has organized since 2017. Past crawls have been similarly themed, from a purpose-driven trip to Austin to visit employers such as Whole Foods and Livestrong to a sustainability career crawlthat toured facilities across Houston.

“Since the career crawls are meant to take students off campus to explore job functions, industries and organizations, we target opportunities that wouldn’t typically come to campus,” said Michelle Passo, the CCD’s experiential education program manager. “We know the hiring timeline for the arts is usually not until the spring semester or as needed, so we wanted to empower students with knowledge of places and potential career paths early in the semester.”

The CCD pays for the crawls, making them accessible to all students. Passo and her colleagues at the CCD also encourage any and all students to attend each crawl — regardless of major or year — because having an open mind is crucial to finding opportunities and careers in the real world.

“For example, someone interested in the arts, communication and entertainment industry might think the theater is comprised of actors and directors — which is true — but there are so many full-time staff members at the Alley in roles ranging from technical, design, finance, IT, administrative, marketing and more,” Passo said. “Similar to externships, these short-term experiences can reinforce interests as much as they may shift a path away from an industry.”

Students posed with KTRK-TV anchors after the 3 p.m. news broadcast. (Photo by Katharine Shilcutt)

Jones College freshman Katelyn Landry came to Rice to become a journalist. Despite the lack of a formal journalism program, Rice offered the humanities major opportunities to obtain firsthand experience in other ways, such as writing for the Thresher and participating in programs like those offered by the CCD. At KTRK, Landry eagerly peppered Dobbyn with questions; Dobbyn gamely answered each one before handing off her contact info for any future queries.

“I feel renewed and reassured in my interest in journalism,” Landry said after the final stop. “I also feel curious about other careers in the arts, communication and entertainment industry that I had not previously known about, such as community outreach and education.”