Montclair Connections and Experiences Lead to Exciting Olympics Work for Recent SCM Graduates

With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games ending with exciting, gold medal finishes for the United States in Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Women’s Soccer, three recent Montclair School of Communication and Media graduates and two of their professors in the Sports Communication program wrapped up their own thrilling Olympics experience that also made them feel like world champions.

Professors Stacy Gitlin and Kelly Whiteside from the Sports Communication program were joined by Anton Specht (SCM, ’21), Jason Naccarella (SCM ’23) and Maurice Jenkins (SCM, ’24) at the NBC Sports Studios in Stamford, CT to work in various production roles. All three students were part of Montclair’s Red Hawk Sports Network, which provided valuable live production experience to help prepare them for the opportunity. The group worked more than three weeks, including 19 days of competition, to produce thousands of hours of content across all NBC Networks.

Naccarella, who worked as an EVS (Enhanced Voice Services) Production Assistant with Peacock’s live Gold Zone show, said “Working the Olympics has been an experience like no other. Montclair’s School of Communication and Media’s Sports Communication Program helped me understand the flow of how a live production, specifically in sports, operates and the key factors that go into a show. Experiencing the homecoming game from the SCM control room and even our mobile, multi-cam production gave me the hands-on experience that prepared me for this professional setting.”

Specht, an EVS Production Assistant on USA, agreed with Naccarella that his Montclair experience made this opportunity easier. “The Red Hawk Sports Network helped prepare me for the workflow of production meetings and to understand how putting on a live show takes every bit of effort from each person. The non-stop marathon was a rewarding work environment, and to be part of the largest media event in the world is something I will always cherish.”

Jenkins, who worked as an EVS Production Assistant on E!, also found the experience to be extremely rewarding. “This is the best introduction to the industry I could have asked for,” he said. “I have 100% confidence in myself moving forward, and I am grateful that Montclair prepared me by providing opportunities and a space to get hands-on experience with professional equipment. I am also grateful for having professors who prepared us and provided opportunities so we could thrive in settings as big as the Olympics.”

The connection for the opportunities for the Montclair alumni was made by Professor Gitlin, who was an Edit Producer on USA during the Games. This was her third Olympic Games and she also won an Emmy for her work on the Tokyo 2020 Games. Gitlin was joined by Professor Whiteside who served as a researcher on the Gold Zone show.

Gitlin hopes to continue providing alumni with these opportunities for future games, saying “Sports production is about the connections you make. The earlier we can get students involved in our live and taped productions during their undergraduate days, the more prepared they will be when incredible opportunities like this arise.”

Interested in learning more and how to apply to Montclair’s Sports Communication program? Click here for more information.

Story by Keith Green, School of Communication and Media