Media students sharpen skills with new Ice Wolves opportunity

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – At the New Mexico Academy for the Media Arts, students are using skills learned in the classroom out in the real world.

A new paid internship with the New Mexico Ice Wolves is teaching students how to film and broadcast live sports.

"I came here for the film," said Antonio Marioni, a 10th grader. "This internship, ‘feels like a job!’"

"The internship is really fun," said Ana Cotton, also a 10th grader. "It’s really cool to see how things work because we have the control room where we have the big screens and where we switch between cameras and where we can play replays."

The students get to work with these different tools and put their skills to the test through live-action sports.

"You have to like follow the puck and make sure you’re not getting like all the actions going on at the ice so people at home can watch," Cotton explained.

"I’m doing a bunch of film classes," said Colbie Boyd, an 11th grader. "They’re teaching me how to make short films and movies, which is awesome. And then I have all my normal classes that try to connect all of that into it, so we can still get more experiences through that. So that’s awesome."

Many of these students have big dreams of making a name for themselves in the film industry.

"Everyone knows Indiana Jones, everyone knows yada-yada. I want to be kind of a household name," Marioni said.

As Marioni can tell you, this internship also gives students a foot in the door.

"You meet so many people," Marioni said, "and you just make so many contacts – and that’s really half of the process."

"We get experiences with live television, we get experiences with working with talent, and then we also just get the experience of working things like a camera, a tricaster or audio and working on all those things is really fun and really educational," Cotton said.

As for what’s next?

"Keep filming, keep working on film. One other thing I want to do is go into the Disney College Program and see how that goes," Boyd said. "But come back to New Mexico right after."

"Now that Netflix is coming here and everyone’s filming here, I really don’t see myself leaving unless something changes," Marioni said. "I sure hope it doesn’t."

"I have like a list of things that I could possibly do," Cotton said. "I’m thinking of maybe being zoologist, a marine biologist or maybe being a teacher. The list goes on."