For those with no interest in banking or consulting, the Dartmouth-to-Wall-Street pipeline might seem enviably straight-forward resume drop, interview and a junior summer internship followed by a post-graduation job. The murkier pathway to entertainment careers, however, was the idea behind the creation of the Dartmouth Alumni in Entertainment and Media Association. The organization aims to reach out to undergraduates interested in the entertainment industry to make breaking into the field less daunting for students.
"When I was coming out of school, it seemed like people were doing one of three things consulting, banking or being a doctor," DAEMA co-founder Jason Hsiao '98 said. "As I opened my eyes, I began to learn about more and more people in entertainment, and the list kept growing and growing. Suddenly what started as a few dozen names grew by the hundreds."
DAEMA, now celebrating its fifth anniversary, began in 2006 with a small group of alumni in New York City who were trying to connect with other alumni in the industry, DAEMA co-founder Jethro Rothe-Kushel '03 said.
"The internet and the efforts of [Rothe-Kushel] and his peers were crucial in getting it together," Tim O'Hair '88, a member of DAEMA, said. "It was long overdue." O'Hair works in the Motion Picture Finance department at Paradigm, an entertainment talent agency.
DAEMA and its still-growing network of alumni aim to help both young alumni and current students gain exposure to the industry through an internship and mentorship program that pairs students and young alumni with senior-level professionals in a given entertainment field. DAEMA also makes its presence known on campus through organizing lectures on campus and facilitating discussions through Career Services. Students are eligible to become members of the association, Rothe-Kushel said.
"There were some challenges entering entertaining," Rothe-Kushel said about the early stages of his career. "It's a challenging business and there's not a lot of active support in terms of mentors and people willing to give guidance and real life advice."
Rothe-Kushel hopes to make the transition from college to the entertainment industry easier for younger generations.
"It's just amazing when you see someone who's struggling get the support they need," Rothe-Kushel said.
In addition to its work with undergraduates, DAEMA also facilitates networking between its professionally established members, which is key to achieving success in the movie business, O'Hair said. DAEMA keeps Dartmouth alumni connected through events such as mixers, panels at the Writers Guild of America and screenings organized by DAEMA's branches in New York and Los Angeles.
The opportunities that DAEMA provides to tap into a wide base of alumni support has been central to the success of Dartmouth undergraduates and alumni. Given both Hsiao's and Rothe-Kushel's Dartmouth experiences at the College, however, time spent at Dartmouth appears to be just as important to finding success and purpose in the entertainment industry.
Hsiao began working as a business consultant after graduation. While he flew around the world and made presentations to high-profile clients, Hsiao felt that the one thing missing from his career was not being able to see the fruits of his labor, he said.
Following this realization, Hsiao transitioned into the entertainment industry, where he started as a production assistant running errands around Manhattan. Hsiao has since founded Animoto, a website that takes users' photos and videos and turns them into professional-quality slideshows.
"I definitely had moments where I questioned whether I was being impulsive and stupid, but the great thing about entertainment is that it is very merit based," Hsiao said in reference to his early career. "If you're smart and you're good, you can make your way out very quickly, and if you're a Dartmouth student, you're really smart, creative and good at getting things done."
Being a part of H-Croo during Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips gave Hsiao a sense of the importance of innovation, a realization he has applied to his work in the entertainment industry, he said.
"In '97, we decided to make [H-Croo] more musical with song and dance and make it more outrageous," Hsiao reflected. "That was so awesome to do something crazy and creative. I love being able to see what all my hard work goes into."
Rothe-Kushel's interest in entertainment was catalyzed by a documentary he made with funding from Dartmouth about homelessness in downtown Los Angeles after his freshman year. Rothe-Kushel is now an L.A.-based producer and director.
"From that grant, I ended up putting the film together and sending it out and getting responses from people I didn't even know," Rothe-Kushel said. "There was a lot of support [at Dartmouth] for me. It financed my first film project."
