Zaina Sesay & Rhonda Elnaggar of Media Meltdown Productions

There’s a new student organization on Temple’s campus, and its name is Media Meltdown Productions!

Its creators, juniors Rhonda Elnaggar and Zaina Sesay, discussed what their organization encompasses, and what its purpose is.

Elnaggar, a Broadcast Journalism major, and Sesay, a Film and Media Arts major, both wanted to create an organization that combined all majors in the School of Communications and Theater (SCT).

“We wanted an organization where everyone can come together and collaborate”, Sesay said.

They both wanted a group in which all students could feel welcome.

This vision of Elnaggar and Sesay developed into Media Meltdown Productions. Its purpose is two-fold. ‘One purpose of the organization is to ‘provide consultation for any Temple campus organization or student’.

Their vision for the organization is to help and collaborate with other organizations, whether it is through covering events, creating flyers, or promotional videos for them. Elnaggar and Sesay want students to have interactions outside of the classroom where they can network with others.

As a result, they can benefit and network with others. Elnaggar added that networking can benefit everyone in their future endeavors, so the students should start now.

“The goal of Media Meltdown Productions is to be the first point of contact for any student organization event”,Sesay said.

They want to offer their creative services to these organizations. Elnaggar added in support with Sesay’s statement of “so many organizations have events that no one knows about”.

They want to be the organization that gives others and themselves publicity and networking opportunities.

Elnaggar wants students to gain internships through their organization. She explained how difficult it is to get one without adequate experience. With this organization,Elnaggar said “students will have something visual to show people how to get internships”.Collectively, their goals of the organization are to work together and promote each others’ work.

“It’s always a team process and in Communications, you cannot do anything by yourself”, Elnaggar said.

Their journey to creating the group was very long and tedious, and shows that with determination and persistence, anything is possible.

In creating and developing Media Meltdown Productions, Elnaggar and Sesay have gotten various people associated with SCT to give them helpful advice.

From meeting with the Dean of SCT, to meetings with faculty members and advisors, these women have shown that they are determined to excel in executing their plans. They even received help from and guidance from their families.

The idea of the organization was created with the help of Sesay’s sister, and the concept of the name was suggested by Elnaggar’s mom.

Elnaggar’s mom suggested Melting Pot Productions butElnaggarandSesay thought of ‘melting pot’ as something cultural, and were looking in another direction for a name. They then built off of her mom’s suggestion, and came up with Media Meltdown Productions.Sesay explains with a smile that its name “combines everyone melting together into one big organization.”

But their process in actually making the organization a reality was a lesson in patience and perfecting one’s craft.

When applying to create their organization last semester, Elnaggar andSesay missed the deadline and were told to apply in the fall of this year. Instead of giving up, they used their time wisely to promote their organization and make people more aware of it.

On waiting until the fall to create their organization,Elnaggar said “ turned outto be a good thing”, because it provided them more time to perfect their organization.Inpromoting their organization in preparation for the fall, Elnaggar and Sesay were busy sending out messages on social networking sites. From sending informational messages on Facebook, creating a Twitter page for the organization, and having creative contests in which people can create their logo, these women are getting their organization into the public eye, and it is working.

They recently had their first meeting on October 25th, and according to Sesay, it went as planned and they had a great turn-out of people.

Even after their first meeting, these women are already receiving requests from other organizations for their services.

Sesay makes a point to mention that even though their goal is to help and work with others, they want to promote themselves as well. Sesay said, “Our first clients could be ourselves”. They would both create promotional videos for Media Meltdown Productions, and as a result, showcase themselves.

When these women are not consumed with schoolwork and matters on their newly formed organization, they enjoy concentrating on their specific interests.

Sesay enjoys working on creating promotional videos for others, while updating her YouTube channel of skits and videos. Elnaggar keeps herself busy with a segment on Temple’s student-run radio, Whip Radio, and often doing production for Temple Update, also a student-run production of a news program.

Elnaggar and Sesay are very busy women that manage to handle their schoolwork, as well as their new organization.They are examples of young women who have determination and the drive to make their dreams into reality.

These women can be reached by all forms of social networking sites. They believe that one can showcase their talents through social networking sites to get feedback from the public and perfecting their craft.

The organization’s email is MediaMeltdownTU@gmail.com. Elnaggar and Sesay can both be reached by Facebook and Twitter by joining the group Media Meltdown TU, and following them at @MediaMeltdown TU.

Please feel free to contact these wonderful women if you have any questions!

Here is the link to join Media Meltdown Productions on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/224112417628458/