Kent State alumna, Brianna Gordon, ‘20, developed two interests independently in high school: video production and sports. Now, she spends her days combining those two, working on videos for the Pro Football Hall of Fame (PFHOF) in Canton, Ohio.
Gordon is making a name for herself after graduating with a degree in digital media production and a concentration in television from the School of Media and Journalism in the College of Communication and Information.
After graduating from Kent State, she started to work as a programming assistant for the PFHOF’s Centennial Plaza, an amphitheater in downtown Canton. Eventually she was approached by Jim Porter, the president of PFHOF, and asked to make individual videos for every Hall of Famer.
These videos are meant to honor the Hall of Famers and their football careers by compiling videos of their speeches and pictures from their playing days, according to Gordon.
“I am so honored to be a part of this project, and I’m hoping a bunch of these Hall of Famers actually get to see these videos,” Gordon said. “We’re still at the first couple of phases, so I’m excited to see where it’s going to go.”
Once Gordon began studying at Kent State, she was able to combine her interest in sports and video production, and turn it into a career. She gained experience by working at TeleProductions for the university’s sports teams. On top of this, Gordon was an assistant operations manager at TV2 and worked at the Student Resource Lab (SRL) in Franklin Hall.
“There were so many opportunities with student media. I was involved in pretty much everything you can imagine,” Gordon said. “Working in student media, you become a big family after a while. The more people you know, the more successful you’re going to be in the long run.”
Gordon credits some of her success to the classes and professors at Kent State, specifically Assistant Professor Scott Hallgren.
“I just tried to gain as much experience as I could and all of the professors were so helpful as well. They are so willing to help you and that’s pretty much what boosted my career to where it is now,” Gordon said.
Hallgren had nothing but good things to say about the recent alumna.
“One of my favorite things about Brianna was how engaged she was in everything she did,” Hallgren said. “Whether in class or at TV2 and the SRL, she came ready to work, and to learn as much as she could.”
To learn more about Digital Media Production at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/mdj/digital-media-production.