MSI Spotlight: Professor Bowers

Greetings,

The NABEF-MSI provides a stellar program for graduated seniors who are passionate about pursuing a career in media sales. Leaders within the media field agree to serve as faculty and organize and develop a specified agenda topic and deliver a professional workshop for the students. Additionally, the participants have the opportunity to interact with these high level leaders; an opportunity that people currently working in the industry rarely get! Not only do the participants receive training from movers and shakers within the industry, they are also interviewed by high level recruiters who are actively looking to hire for open positions.

The importance of the Media Sales Institute for companies in the media field continues to expand. Companies continue to seek candidates of color for positions in media sales. This need continues to expand with each successive year of the Institute.
Lesley Bowers has served as Program Administrator and Program Facilitator for the MSI. Her role is outlined here:
• Serves as a liaison between the Institute and the media industry
• Tracks NABEF-MSI graduates throughout the year
• Maintains contact with graduates and provides updates on their employment status
• Provides follow-up advice and employment assistance to graduates
• Assists in making arrangements for workshop faculty (and MSI presenters)
• Supervises creation and production of the quarterly newsletter which is distributed to recruiters, MSI faculty and their respective companies, MSI graduates, potential schools from which applicant pool comes
• Conducts MSI workshop and supervises final student presentations
• Serves as a faculty presenter during the Institute
• Coordinates and facilitates all on-site sessions during the NABEF-MSI
• Provides intense, high quality individualized tutoring and mentoring for student participants on a continuous basis for the duration of the Institute; Holloway lives in the dorm with participants to be available to them at all times.
• Assists in coordinating and directing students’ final presentations; provides rehearsal opportunities and feedback
• Delivers selected targeted professional lectures
• Organizes final presentation sessions

For the final two days of the Institute, each student prepares a randomly-selected simulated media sales pitch which is offered in the morning as a 7-10 minute presentation before a field of professional recruiters. The afternoon is spent in scheduled one-on-one interviews. At this time, recruiters have an opportunity to meet and talk with students face to face.