Photo: Ramon Gordon, Journalism emphasis graduate from the Department of Communication Studies at NCU.

Photo Credit: Contributed

By: Natalia Clarke

Northern Caribbean University’s (NCU) alumnus Ramon Gordon, was awarded a paid internship at the first staging of the Jamaica Creative Career Expo. The location has not been disclosed.

He is one of 10 ‘creative’ students island wide to earn this opportunity. 

The event was held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on February 10, 2022, as part of an initiative by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport (MCGES)—which defined creatives as “traditional publishers, authors and choreographers to content creators.”

Gordon, 22, is also a nominee for the Press Association of Jamaica’s (PAJ) Carl Wint award for best Feature Story, along with a team from Nationwide News Network (NNN) where he interned recently. 

“I have to give credit to DCS [Department of Communication Studies],” he said while reflecting on his recent achievements. “They have prepared me to do whatever I want to.”

Gordon, who is now pursuing a graduate degree in Media Management at the University of West Indies (UWI), says while he studied journalism at DCS, he is also trained in radio, television, and editing. 

He believes these skills prompted the Career Expo team to give him “a shot” where he now hopes to meet and learn from veterans in the media industry and land a permanent post. 

His goals align with those of the MCGES. “We are focused on building professionalism, innovation and sustainability,” Minister Olivia Grange said before the announcement of the awardees. “We are committed to building out roots of progression for young people.” 

The ministry intends to award more internships in coming months in honor of Jamaica’s 60th Independence celebration. Students are selected based on their résumés. 

Another awardee, University of Technology’s Robyn Murray, says she is still surprised she was chosen.

“I never really dubbed myself a creative, but I know I am a woman of many talents,” she said. 

Murray studies Surveying and Geographic Information Sciences and was placed at Television Jamaica (TVJ). 

She says her résumé describes her as a creative thinker and a leader and believes those characteristics jumped out at her recruiters. 

Those are also two of the traits applicable to Ramon Gordon, but he is also imploring students to start creating and sharing content. 

“If you are studying Computer Science but you want to get into fashion, build a fashion website,” he said.

He says the key to being successful in the creative industry is to be bold, promote yourself and not compare yourself to anyone. 

The Jamaica Creative Career Expo is expected to be an annual event.