Students from all three colleges at Bucknell explored careers in live entertainment at the Experience Live 2025 Career Day at Rock Lititz on Friday, November 7. The Center for Career Advancement has brought students to this event for the last four years, and it continues to be an exciting, hands-on look at the industry. Creators, makers and managers offered career advice, and students saw demonstrations and panels on the realities of designing, building and managing concert tours and other large-scale events in media, sports and business. One student said she felt like this was “where she was supposed to be,” while another realized the industry had “so much more to offer” than he expected.
Sarah Bell from the Center for Career Advancement joined the group along with other faculty and staff members and helped students connect what they were seeing to the skills and roles employers look for in the field.
Professionals provided a great of advice for students interested in the field – here are four take-aways that were considered valuable:
- Skills the industry values: organization, problem solving, flexibility, collaboration across departments, interpersonal strength and genuine passion for the field. Being a self-starter and showing initiative in the hiring process makes it easier to say yes.
- Personality matters — wanting to be around people (and having people want to be around you) plays a big role in building relationships and finding opportunities.
- Creative inspiration is everywhere: what you see, hear, watch and enjoy shapes your work.
- Generative AI can be useful for saving time in the mock-up process but doesn’t help you stand out from others. It doesn’t always provide the accuracy you will need in planning events and it is often more distracting than helpful.
This event was made possible through the support from the College of Arts & Sciences, Freeman College of Management, College of Engineering, Office of the Provost and the Weis Center.
