Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Creates Hundreds of Summer Learning Opportunities for NYC Students

This summer, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) supported several summer initiatives intended to open the door to media and tech jobs for New York City students. Presented in partnership with sister City agencies including the Department of Education (DOE), the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), the Mayor’s Fund, and the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), these programs – ranging from web programming and engineering to theatre and film production – provided New York City middle school, high school and college students with hands-on experiences that will help them succeed in the next steps of their education or career.

"New York City’s thriving media and entertainment sectors offer incredible opportunities to build a meaningful career," said MOME Commissioner Julie Menin. "We are proud to have partnered with a number of City agencies this summer in an effort to provide young New Yorkers with meaningful learning experiences in these fields, and expose them to what’s possible in their future careers. Whether it’s through coding or film production or theater set design, these initiatives allowed students to have hands-on experiences that will enrich their future learning and career choices for years to come."

In partnership with sister agencies, MOME presented three summer programs for high-school and college-aged New York City students. They include:

Brooklyn Tech Triangle Internship Program
In partnership with SBS, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle Internship Program paired undergraduate students at the New York City College of Technology (City Tech) with talented web developers and programmers, media specialists, designers, and engineering technologists at innovative organizations in the ‘Brooklyn Tech Triangle’ business district. Since its inception in the summer of 2013, over 320 students have completed a three-month internship at more than 70 different technology firms throughout DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Ladders for Leaders
Presented in a unique partnership with DYCD and the Mayor’s Fund, the Ladders for Leaders program enables highly-trained and well-prepared New York City students to receive compensated summer work experience in a wide range of industries. This summer, MOME connected over 100 high school and college students with hands-on learning opportunities in TV and film production, media, theater, and technical internships, with the long-term goal of developing a pipeline into “below the line” production, media, theater, and advertising jobs.

Five-thousand 11th and 12th grade students are currently enrolled in the DOE’s Career and Technical Education Media, Technology & Design Program that encompasses media, advertising, and theater. School principals report that only 10% of the students in the program are able to get experience in the media & entertainment industry through internships before graduation. It is often the case that students are forced to choose between unpaid internship opportunities in the sector, versus paid opportunities elsewhere. MOME’s funding of internships and recruitment of employers across the five boroughs opened the door to careers and good-paying jobs in the industry for these students.

Summer Arts Institute
For the first time this summer, MOME provided funding for the DOE Summer Arts Institute (SAI), a free, intensive summer learning program for high-achieving New York City public school student artists entering grades 8-12. SAI is designed for advanced-level study and portfolio development in a particular artistic discipline. Over 1,500 students audition each year to spend the summer working with art specialists, partnering cultural organizations, and guest artists. Institutional partners for SAI in past years have included the American Ballet Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Theatre for a New Audience, and Tribeca Film Institute. MOME’s participation in SAI allowed 75 students to receive hands-on training in the disciplines of theatre and film. 350 talented young New Yorkers participated in SAI this year.