NHMC Careers in Entertainment Youth Program

K-12 STEAM education

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

High school students aren't often exposed to all of the careers possible for them, especially in the entertainment industry. When they think of media, they think of acting, writing, directing, music. They don't have information or insight on all of the roles that take place behind the scenes and outside of those few career paths.

Through the Careers in Entertainment Youth Program, we are exposing the youth in attendance to different career routes in the industry by bringing in industry executives and others in those roles who can give insight on their jobs, how they got there, and how those students can make their way into their positions as well. We want to give the students not only knowledge, but industry connections that they can use to get advice, mentorship, and internships. After the sessions, the students also receive a certificate of completion that they can use on their resumes.
During our first pilot of this program in April 2024, we hosted ten high school students from multiple schools throughout LA County and had three seminars throughout a Saturday session from 10AM - 3PM, taking place at ICON Collective, a music school in Burbank, CA. These sessions consisted of acting, music, and public relations/talent management facilitated by well-respected individuals in those fields.
Acting: Francia Raisa and Jessica Marie Garcia
Music Performance/Production: Jessie Reyez and Jermi Thomas
Public Relations: Marlo Brooks, Sunshine Sachs Morgan and Lylis

LA County is the home to the entertainment / media industry. By media, we mean ilm, television, streaming, video & digital platforms, social media, gaming, publishing, art, music, sports, fashion, cuisine, and more. At NHMC, we focus on the media because it is one of the most powerful institutions that shapes society’s attitudes, perceptions, values, and beliefs.
75% of our students in LAUSD are Latino. In LA County, home to entertainment, Latinos are more than 50% of the population, but our strength in numbers is not shown in executive positions in the industry. Making sure that we are represented in all roles within the industry will ensure that our stories are told authentically and that we are being portrayed accurately. Our youth are where we need to be investing our time and resources as they will be the ones stepping into these leadership roles and greenlighting industry projects but this will only happen if they are aware of the opportunities available to them.

This program has only been through one pilot. Upon arrival, we asked the students to fill out a survey asking what they knew on the industry, do they have any desire to go into the industry, what roles do they hope to fill, what do they hope to learn, etc.
After the three seminars, the students filled out another survey with similar post-questions and many of the students stated that they learned of new possibilities, learned key industry tips and tricks, and now are considering careers they hadn't considered previously. We even had some students reach out asking if they can be connected with our speakers as they felt a connection and had more questions they would want to ask that they hadn't thought of previously.