Inside New York gives students front-row access to the city’s world-class media industry
Revived program puts students face-to-face with the professionals shaping media, marketing, and communications by blending networking, site visits, and mentorship
•
Published
Inside NY students visit the set of SportsNet New York.
Inside New York gives students front-row access to the city’s world-class media industry
Revived program puts students face-to-face with the professionals shaping media, marketing, and communications by blending networking, site visits, and mentorship
•
Published
Savana Scott is having coffee in New York City. Across the table sits Kelsey Stevens, VP of Paid Search at JPMorgan and a Miami alum, and at one point, Scott thinks to herself, “Wow, I can’t even believe you’re meeting with me right now!”
That meeting was one of dozens of personalized one-on-one networking conversations built into Inside New York, a unique study-away program designed to immerse students in the city’s media and communications industries.
“It is very career focused,” said Phillip Arceneaux, assistant professor of Strategic Communication. “We bring students to visit news outlets, public relations and advertising agencies, media production firms, you name it. We get them to see what it's actually like in these spaces and to get a feel for what it's like to be in New York.”
According to Arceneaux, the program is not entirely new. Instead, Inside New York is officially a “revival” and now rejoins similar Miami programs, including Inside Hollywood, Inside Chicago, and Inside Washington, D.C.
Like its counterparts, the program is designed to prepare students for careers through immersive, real-world experiences and give them direct exposure to professionals, workplaces, and industry practices while positioning New York as a launchpad into communication and media careers across the country.
“If we can give them the standard of getting and being successful in New York, they can literally go anywhere else,” Arceneaux said.
As part of the experience, each student was required to schedule and lead one-on-one meetings arranged by Arceneaux with New York professionals, which is how Scott found herself sitting across from JPMorgan’s VP of Paid Search. Before each conversation, students researched their contacts, prepared questions, and wrote thank-you notes afterward.
The exercise was both a networking opportunity and an eye-opening chance to gain direct insight into the career path of an accomplished industry professional.
These one-on-one’s were also complemented by a week-long series of site visits across the city’s vast media and communications landscape, including NBC Studios, The New York Times, TikTok, Fox Nation, SportsNet New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Autumn Communications, and more. Along the way, students gained behind-the-scenes exposure to journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising, television, and media production in action.
“It's one thing to learn about these industries in the classroom,” Arceneaux said. “It's very different to actually engage with the people who are doing it in the trenches. Building that network is another focus. If it's in New York, it's either the global standard or has offices everywhere, so even if students don't stay there, they gain access to a professional network across places like Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, or wherever they do want to go.”
For Scott, the advice and insight she received was invaluable, and it offered a clearer picture of both the opportunities and realities of working in the industry. Through her meetings and site visits, she discovered career paths she had never previously considered, including communications roles within arts organizations and even specialized positions behind products she uses every day.
Many of the lessons learned also arose repeatedly. Regardless of where students visited or what career plans they had, professionals continually emphasized the importance of creating a portfolio of tangible work, being willing to learn, staying curious, and building resilience.
“My biggest takeaway is people want to know what you did and what you produced, more than just the classes you took. So, creation over courses,” Scott said. “And you really want to be coachable and resilient, and interviewing is storytelling, and so is marketing. Be curious. Ask beginner questions. Be informed. And just get your foot in the door. Even if you don’t know exactly what you want yet, just pick one and go and it’ll all come along.”
Now, looking back on the experience, Scott said the biggest takeaway might actually be less about where she went and more about how it changed where she now sees herself going.
“Inside New York will open your eyes in so many different ways, and it’ll be one of the best experiences of your life,” Scott said. “The most rewarding and valuable thing I got is the assurance that it’s going to be OK. I just feel better prepared for my future, no matter what it entails, now that I have gone through this program.”
That meeting was one of dozens of personalized one-on-one networking conversations built into Inside New York, a unique study-away program designed to immerse students in the city’s media and communications industries.
“It is very career focused,” said Phillip Arceneaux, assistant professor of Strategic Communication. “We bring students to visit news outlets, public relations and advertising agencies, media production firms, you name it. We get them to see what it's actually like in these spaces and to get a feel for what it's like to be in New York.”
According to Arceneaux, the program is not entirely new. Instead, Inside New York is officially a “revival” and now rejoins similar Miami programs, including Inside Hollywood, Inside Chicago, and Inside Washington, D.C.
Like its counterparts, the program is designed to prepare students for careers through immersive, real-world experiences and give them direct exposure to professionals, workplaces, and industry practices while positioning New York as a launchpad into communication and media careers across the country.
“If we can give them the standard of getting and being successful in New York, they can literally go anywhere else,” Arceneaux said.
As part of the experience, each student was required to schedule and lead one-on-one meetings arranged by Arceneaux with New York professionals, which is how Scott found herself sitting across from JPMorgan’s VP of Paid Search. Before each conversation, students researched their contacts, prepared questions, and wrote thank-you notes afterward.
The exercise was both a networking opportunity and an eye-opening chance to gain direct insight into the career path of an accomplished industry professional.
These one-on-one’s were also complemented by a week-long series of site visits across the city’s vast media and communications landscape, including NBC Studios, The New York Times, TikTok, Fox Nation, SportsNet New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Autumn Communications, and more. Along the way, students gained behind-the-scenes exposure to journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising, television, and media production in action.
“It's one thing to learn about these industries in the classroom,” Arceneaux said. “It's very different to actually engage with the people who are doing it in the trenches. Building that network is another focus. If it's in New York, it's either the global standard or has offices everywhere, so even if students don't stay there, they gain access to a professional network across places like Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, or wherever they do want to go.”
For Scott, the advice and insight she received was invaluable, and it offered a clearer picture of both the opportunities and realities of working in the industry. Through her meetings and site visits, she discovered career paths she had never previously considered, including communications roles within arts organizations and even specialized positions behind products she uses every day.
Many of the lessons learned also arose repeatedly. Regardless of where students visited or what career plans they had, professionals continually emphasized the importance of creating a portfolio of tangible work, being willing to learn, staying curious, and building resilience.
“My biggest takeaway is people want to know what you did and what you produced, more than just the classes you took. So, creation over courses,” Scott said. “And you really want to be coachable and resilient, and interviewing is storytelling, and so is marketing. Be curious. Ask beginner questions. Be informed. And just get your foot in the door. Even if you don’t know exactly what you want yet, just pick one and go and it’ll all come along.”
Now, looking back on the experience, Scott said the biggest takeaway might actually be less about where she went and more about how it changed where she now sees herself going.
“Inside New York will open your eyes in so many different ways, and it’ll be one of the best experiences of your life,” Scott said. “The most rewarding and valuable thing I got is the assurance that it’s going to be OK. I just feel better prepared for my future, no matter what it entails, now that I have gone through this program.”
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the Inside New York program? Visit the website for more information.