Former Alumni Student Melanie Brown Discusses her Journey as Media Specialist to Journalism Students.

By Robyn Meurkson

On Monday, former Roosevelt University student Melanie Brown gives a life lesson to Roosevelt’s Journalism 219 students about being passionate in the things that we do and learning to be continuously optimistic through the life decisions we make.

Melanie has worked for a few television stations, and is currently a Technical Director for Fox’s television hit show “Empire.” She has gone through and beyond to get to where she is today and believes that God has guided her throughout her successful career. She has also networked through numerous television shows including Fox News with Robin Robinson, and was also an Executive Producer for Mark Wallace of WVON 1690AM.

Coming from the South Side of Chicago, as a college student, Melanie had to break some barriers in deciding what she wanted to pursue as a focus in her life’s Career. Becoming a Media Specialist, Executive Producer, Technical Specialist, and her involvement in Public Relations, was something Brown never had the thought of becoming when she entered college.

“I didn’t go to school for Photography, Public Relations, or Media Studies,” Brown said. “My intentions was to major in Education with a minor in Psychology." Entering Roosevelt, Brown started enrolling in Education and Psychology to help prepare her for what she believed was going to be her future career.

While transferring to Ellis College of New York Institute of Technology, Brown had become more socially conscious, where she began exploring other fields. She began to focus her studies in the media, as she saw her talent development.

“At the time of the recession, it was hard for people to spend money. People had taken the opportunity to just study and go to school,” Brown said. It was a struggle at some point but Brown never gave up and kept her faith going with the talent that God has given her. Throughout her academic years, Brown has worked hard and graduated with honors in Public Relations/Marketing and in the Communication Arts.

Since then, Brown has fondly expressed herself to become different than most media individuals. “The way to stand out is to write and create something that is different.” “It gets boring when many write about the same thing,” said Brown. “Just because you make money, doesn’t mean that’s your passion.”

Currently, Melanie is a self-entrepreneur and has her own company where she works through various photography and video projects. Melanie values in all that she does and does not focus on the competition that surrounds her in her work.

What surrounds her is not the compensation, not the best jobs being offered, but knowledge, having great knowledge in something she is passionate about. “I am being more compassionate with knowledge,” Brown said. In all the work and effort that Melanie has done throughout her career, she has distinctively been involved in activism groups and is a great supporter of the “Black Lives Matter" movement.