At Full Sail University, real-world experience and accelerated learning help prepare students for careers in their dream industries. To help ensure that future graduates are entering the workforce with the tools they need to succeed, curriculum is developed with the input of Program Advisory Committees (PACs). Since students studying media communications at Full Sail are preparing for careers in content creation, a field that requires a PAC with a wide range of skill sets.

With committee members from organizations including Clyde Brothers Studios, Beyond FX, Roger West, and Westfall Gold, the Media Communications PAC provides feedback to instructors and program directors on course curriculum while sharing their insights on industry changes, creative strategies, favorite tools, and more. As social media and the way we communicate online continues to evolve, PAC members provide useful feedback based on their first-hand experience.

Made up of industry professionals across a variety of content creation disciplines, the advisory committee includes Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee and VFX artist Keith Guerrette, Roger West CEO Mike Westafer, and photographer Yuliya Panchenko. Bringing together their knowledge across video, design, communication, business, and more, the committee helps keep the course content relevant for students looking to grow their personal brands, manage social media, or find a unique career in the communication field.

For AdventHealth Executive Director of Strategy Integration and Operations and Program Advisory Committee member Enrico Marcellino, the questions he asks when assessing the curriculum are similar to those he might ask when considering a new hire, saying, “When we go through the curriculum, I'm really looking at it from the standpoint of, ‘Are they preparing the students for the real world when they come out? The software that's being offered that they're learning, how does that transition to the software that they might be using with [an employer like] AdventHealth?’”

Semi-annual meetings offer PAC members the opportunity to tour the Full Sail campus, connect with instructors, and meet students face to face. “This allows each PAC member to have real-time interaction that provides support for curriculum development for faculty and career advice for students. It also allows PAC members to meet with students who might be potential hires. In fact, we have multiple PAC members who have hired Media Communications grads,” shares Program Director Kathy Craven.

“When we did the site visit and we got to talk to the students, that was a really special thing,” says Enrico. “They had great attitudes. They were extremely positive about the experience that they were having at Full Sail and also about the opportunities that they had to showcase things that they were passionate about.”