Newhouse students will travel to SXSW, meet digital media entrepreneurs

Wednesday, March 7, 2012, By Wendy S. Loughlin

Five students from Syracuse University’s will travel to South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas, this week. The trip is sponsored by the Newhouse Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship.

“South by Southwest is the place where tomorrow happens,” says center director Sean Branagan. “For this short amount of time every March, Austin becomes the epicenter of digital media and startups.”

Students were selected based on their experience, skills and knowledge of digital media and entrepreneurship. “Some have had experience working at startup companies; others are skilled in the creation of digital media; and a few are digital media entrepreneurs themselves,” says Branagan.

Students include:

  • Christopher Azar, senior graphic design major: “SXSW is the place to meet and be around people with a similar ambition and builder’s spirit. The concentration and combination of innovative and inspirational ideas and people make it the ideal destination for forward thinking Newhouse students.”
  • Cassia Brooks, senior graphic design major: “Attending SXSW will be an incredible experience before I graduate and continue my career because SXSW is the place to be for startups, emerging technology and interactive design.”
  • Matt Hudson, graduate student in television-radio-film: “I’m excited for SXSW because it’s where things come together and emerge in a digital landscape. It is where what’s happening in the future becomes reality, but you get to live in it now before it’s ready for mass appeal. ‘South By’ is where the world happens.”
  • Camille Malkiewicz, graduate student in advertising: “I’m excited to be a part of the entrepreneurial spirit at SXSW and hopefully learn from the many startups that will be present.”
  • Marina Zarya, graduate student in photography: “The way we communicate, interpret information and experience the world around us is in a constant state of flux. To be successful and impactful, one must innovate to captivate audiences in mediums yet to be invented. SXSW is the quintessential celebration of these changes, and a tremendous opportunity to learn from their inventors and leaders on how to leverage them.”

At SXSW, students will meet with several “movers and shakers” in the digital media and startup community, including:

  • Brian Cohen ’76, vice chairman of the New York Angels
  • Nancy Spears, founder and president of genConnect.com
  • Michael Terpin ’78, founder and CEO of SocialRadius
  • Ed Wise ’00 vice president of sales for Funny or Die

For more information, contact Branagan at (315) 443-6310 or jpbranag@syr.edu.