With the warm weather trend, it was a perfect time for SNHU’s Communications (COM) department to plan there trip to New York City (NYC).
Students from all majors were able to attend. There were two choices to pick from: a walk around Time Square, Central Park and touring the NBC Studios or a photography trip of The Highline/Freedom Tower and the Chelsea Galleries.
Ensuring the trip happened took a semester’s worth of work, whether it be for planning, booking the tickets or coordinating between all the faculty.
Dave Humphreys, a communications instructor, facilitated the trip. Regarding why he chose New York and NBC Studios, Humphreys said, “As a department, we were trying to find a trip that was both far enough away to give students a [possibly] new cultural experience, but close enough to do in a day.”
Students and faculty arrived in NYC around 11 a.m. where they then broke off into groups. Students who chose the NBC portion of the trip were allowed to explore on their own or along with chaperones for a few hours before visiting Central Park.
“I wanted to go on the trip because I absolutely love the city. I had an opportunity to go on a photography trip to the city with my History of Photography class, but the agenda for the COM NYC trip seemed so much more interesting as I felt it would give me an opportunity that I probably wouldn’t get or think to do otherwise,” said Liana Therrien, a senior Fashion Merchandising and Management major, on why she chose to go on the trip.
After touring around the city, it was time for the highlight of the trip: visiting the NBC Studios. Students learned how the whole process of making television shows works: from the lighting, sound and stage design, to how hosts and guests get ready for primetime.
Since it happened on a Saturday, the tour also got to see something special; Saturday Night Live happened to be rehearsing for the show.
They got to see Alec Baldwin practicing as President Trump for a skit.
The tour was a huge hit with everyone who went. “At first, I was thrilled to be able to tour the NBC Studios, as I want to go into television broadcast, and the idea of seeing the job behind the scenes excited me. Once the trip grew closer, I was excited to just be in city, and really did not care what we did,” said Matt Krajcik, a junior Communications major, on his experience of the trip.
As to what Humphreys learned on the trip, he said, “I learned to double check my bus reservations! We had a number of issues in finding a bus, but it eventually all worked out.”
