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Growing up in Shenandoah Valley where mountains abound and people are scarce, I had a lot of time on my hands as a child. When the pleasures of building forts in the woods and fishing for crayfish in streams wore off, my father bought me a computer.
While other kids were chatting and playing games online, I spent time learning about web design and programming.
In 1999, after seventh grade, our family left Shenandoah and moved to McLean. Knowing of my interest in technology, my eighth-grade counselor recommended that I get involved with a non-profit organization called Kidz Online (now Nortel Networks Kidz Online), which had received national recognition as a high-tech, educational organization where teens teach their peers important technology skills.
Interest in our program grew quickly, and, unable to facilitate the great demand for our one-on-one technology training services, Nortel Networks Kidz Online (NNKOL) constructed a Digital Studio at Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. From this new studio we began producing original peer training content and distributing it nationally through streaming video over the Internet.
It was during this transitional phase from teaching kids technology skills in a one-on-one environment to teaching them over the Internet through television-style programming, that my career show, Streaming Futures, was born.
As a teenager I knew that my peers, like me, were constantly in search of the right career path to take in life. Unfortunately, with thousands of different professions available, this choice was very difficult and overwhelming. Teens needed a way to learn about different careers based on real world advice, not from prepackaged information provided by schools or books. And that is where Streaming Futures came in to fill the void.
Streaming Futures would be the tool that would make it possible for teenagers to get in-depth insight into careers by watching interviews with industry leaders actually doing the job. What better way to learn about journalism than to listen to the advice of Steve Forbes of Forbes Magazine, or Bill Keller of the New York Times? Who better to talk about a career in animation than Bill Schultz, former producer of the Simpsons?
With politicians and high-profile visitors such as father of the Internet, Vinton Cerf passing through our studio, I began conducting short, rather informal video-interviews with them about their careers and career advice for teenagers.
Phil Cruver, President of NNKOL, liked the idea of streaming career interviews over the Internet, and after a year of research and brainstorming I was officially the producer and host of our newest show, Streaming Futures.
With a camera crew and program budget, I started traveling around the country performing rounds of interviews in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
After 60 episodes covering an assortment of careers, guests have included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ken Starr, Tia Carrera, actress from “True Lies” and “Wayne’s World”; Jerry Weller, congressman and assistant majority whip; Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes Magazine; Doug McCorkindale, chairman an CEO of Gannett, (owners of USA Today and 99 other newspapers); Gary Credle, Executive VP of Studio Operations for Warner Brothers; and Bill Schultz, Emmy-award winning, former producer of the Simpsons.
In addition to being a standalone resource for teenagers, Streaming Futures is also a tool for teachers. Whether teaching a business, marketing, technology, law, or any other type of class, Streaming Futures interviews have something for almost every teacher and are an excellent addition to classroom curriculum. For example, while teaching a class to marketing students, why not pull up the interview with Dan Sherlock, the VP of marketing for Disney Online?
NNKOL also offers teachers free web hosting and training videos on subjects such as PowerPoint, web design, digital cameras, and an assortment of other important technology tools that help enhance classroom learning.
Building Streaming Futures into what it is today has been extremely exciting for me. When I set out to create a tool that would help teenagers grasp important information about careers, I had a mission to provide the “true” story behind each profiled career. For example, in the interview with Nortel Networks CEO, Frank Dunn, teens learned that Dunn actually has a background in finance, and suggests that teens interested in an executive position such as his should stay motivated in math class. Teens also learned that Dunn was very involved with high school sports, and attributes his current success to his high school teamwork experience.
I will continue to work my hardest until Streaming Futures becomes the premier stop for career information and college planning—the online show that helps teenagers take charge of their futures.
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