EDTECH 537: From Trinidad to the Studio - Guest Post
For this guest post, I wanted to ask my colleague and a good friend to share his journey with us.
Owen Modeste was born and raised in Trinidad. He graduated from San Francisco State with a BA in Radio and Television. He has worked in various film and Television productions. I also wanted to share his student documentary, "The Last Rotation" about the demise of the Numi Plant in the Bay Area. The video will be embedded below.
Owen Modeste was born and raised in Trinidad. He graduated from San Francisco State with a BA in Radio and Television. He has worked in various film and Television productions. I also wanted to share his student documentary, "The Last Rotation" about the demise of the Numi Plant in the Bay Area. The video will be embedded below.
To explain my journey, I would have to start back in the mid 80’s when my uncle at the time
was the general manager of the national radio and television broadcasting service in Trinidad
and Tobago. During the summer I would follow my uncle at the station and be just blown
away by the details and moving parts that led to an effective broadcast, right then and there
the passion was planted. Fast forward almost 20 years later I found myself working in the auto
manufacturing industry while being a part-time broadcast student. The road was very difficult at
times, an immigrant with a distinct accent many in the field had problems communicating with
me, I had to reboot and learn to assimilate the American verbiage in order to be accepted.
One of the most telling moments of my career came at a field trip to a local television station,
as the group walk through the hallways I was curious to find out what this grey-haired man was
doing it what looked like a fish bowl. I began chatting with him and he gave some advice that I
still carry with me today, he said, times are changing young man learn every facet of media
production he was right. In the coming months while in my final year in college I would find
myself working on set for HBO, Speed Channel and the Food Network either as a production
assistant or audio engineer.
In my last year of college, I had to deal with the hardship of being laid off from the auto plant
with a small severance payment after 10 long years. It was now critical that I begin to forge my
way into the media word full throttle. I decide to enroll in an internships program with a CBS
affiliate locally in the sports department, while other students did relish the chance to work for
free I embraced it. Working Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights I soon became the go-to guy for
research in the dark an ominous archive tape room and production assistant on live shoots.
Then upon graduation, my run at the station was over, there were sad faces all around but sadly
there was no room for me in the establishment. As I walked to the elevator one of the younger
sports producers said to me, “If I’m ever to boss here I'm bringing you back.”
The same dedication I showed on my internship I showed in class and after a year of doing
odd media jobs here and there and old professor call and said, I have a past student at Stanford
University who needs a part-time videographer. Six years later my title is studio production
specialist working in a state of the art production studio, but the story would not end there.
Two years into my employment at Stanford I received a call from the young producer at the CBS
affiliate, his words were “are you ready”. Today I also work as the weekend sports producer at
the station covering two baseball World Series Championship and four National Basketball
Association (NBA) playoffs and finals. When I look back at my journey there are some critical
qualities that have got me the far, humility, desire to learn, and always staying sharp and ready.
was the general manager of the national radio and television broadcasting service in Trinidad
and Tobago. During the summer I would follow my uncle at the station and be just blown
away by the details and moving parts that led to an effective broadcast, right then and there
the passion was planted. Fast forward almost 20 years later I found myself working in the auto
manufacturing industry while being a part-time broadcast student. The road was very difficult at
times, an immigrant with a distinct accent many in the field had problems communicating with
me, I had to reboot and learn to assimilate the American verbiage in order to be accepted.
One of the most telling moments of my career came at a field trip to a local television station,
as the group walk through the hallways I was curious to find out what this grey-haired man was
doing it what looked like a fish bowl. I began chatting with him and he gave some advice that I
still carry with me today, he said, times are changing young man learn every facet of media
production he was right. In the coming months while in my final year in college I would find
myself working on set for HBO, Speed Channel and the Food Network either as a production
assistant or audio engineer.
In my last year of college, I had to deal with the hardship of being laid off from the auto plant
with a small severance payment after 10 long years. It was now critical that I begin to forge my
way into the media word full throttle. I decide to enroll in an internships program with a CBS
affiliate locally in the sports department, while other students did relish the chance to work for
free I embraced it. Working Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights I soon became the go-to guy for
research in the dark an ominous archive tape room and production assistant on live shoots.
Then upon graduation, my run at the station was over, there were sad faces all around but sadly
there was no room for me in the establishment. As I walked to the elevator one of the younger
sports producers said to me, “If I’m ever to boss here I'm bringing you back.”
The same dedication I showed on my internship I showed in class and after a year of doing
odd media jobs here and there and old professor call and said, I have a past student at Stanford
University who needs a part-time videographer. Six years later my title is studio production
specialist working in a state of the art production studio, but the story would not end there.
Two years into my employment at Stanford I received a call from the young producer at the CBS
affiliate, his words were “are you ready”. Today I also work as the weekend sports producer at
the station covering two baseball World Series Championship and four National Basketball
Association (NBA) playoffs and finals. When I look back at my journey there are some critical
qualities that have got me the far, humility, desire to learn, and always staying sharp and ready.
The Last Rotation - Produced and Directed by Owen Modeste
What an inspirational story! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello Melissa. His story is very inspirational and probably should be told in a documentary. He’s a very humble person and didn’t share that he graduated with honors and now pursuing his masters degree as well.
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