This spring the Communication Department partnered with Southern California News Group to introduce a new job shadowing program that matched 12 students with media professionals across Southern California newsrooms.
The program paired student applicants with professionals that aligned with their career interests. The volunteer mentors included those working as news and sports reporters, graphic designers, social media managers, columnists and photojournalists. Students participated in a program workshop and initiated introductions with their mentors in advance of their job shadowing experience.
"It gave me a very realistic depiction of real-world newsrooms and the workload that I would be dealing with," said multimedia journalism student Gerardo Sanchez, who shadowed managing digital editor Toni Sciacqua. "I am very grateful that the person I was shadowing was open to letting me ask questions about anything and everything and not only letting me, but encouraging me, to keep in touch with her and the rest of her team."
Students typically spent a half day with their mentors. Some attended editorial and managerial meetings. Others joined reporters at a city council or school board meeting or went out on assignment covering high school sports.
Multimedia Journalism student Victoria Mejicanos attended a Chino Valley Unified School District board meeting with her mentor, journalist Jordan Darling. "She's great. We talked about all the craziness of school board meetings, how to respond to criticism and her journey to SCNG ... From talking with her, I feel a sense of relief about what the future holds for me" said Mejicanos.
The program came to fruition with the help of CPP communication alumnus Daniel Tedford, senior editor at Southern California News Group. Tedford helped to recruit volunteers and worked with the Communication Department to help broker matches and introductions. In facilitating those professional connections, students left the program with renewed energy, new contacts and hands on mentoring.
"It was a pleasure for SCNG to work with these student journalists to offer insight and experience in hopes they feel more confident as they venture into the professional media landscape. As a former Cal Poly Pomona student journalist, I know how meaningful it can be toward starting your career to get real world experience and mentorship" Tedford said.
The Communication Department hopes to partner with SoCal News Group to continue the program during the 2025-2026 academic year and expand access to job shadowing opportunities for students interested in careers in public relations and nonprofit work.