Garcia to SIUE students: Start networking before you graduate Spring 2009 - By Etta-Tamara Wilson
A long history of experience in public and commercial media sources has given Ted Garcia, the new senior vice president of television content at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, useful insight on the importance of education and a person’s relationship to others.
Despite having scholarships for tuition and fees at several other prestigious schools, Garcia chose to enroll at the new Edwardsville campus SIU opened in 1965. The campus was conveniently located near his East St. Louis home. It was attractive, and the cost savings of attending the school, as opposed to others, was appealing.
Entering as a history student, he changed his major after touring the new television studio in the Mass Communications Department.
“I went over and took a look and met with the department chair there, Dr. John Ryder,” Garcia said. “I met with John, and he recruited me. He asked me to give mass communications a chance, to take a look at it. I did and I got hooked.”
Garcia was part of the first class to graduate with a full television and radio specialization track. He credited the faculty — particularly Ryder and Jack Shaheen — and fellow students for generating a creative and educational atmosphere.
Garcia was also a part of the group that created WSIE, the SIUE radio station. He worked at the station until his graduation, both on the air with a weekly show and behind the scenes as a producer. The experience he gained at the station helped him get his first job at KMOX-TV in St. Louis, now known as KMOV.
Garcia worked in various positions at KMOX for nearly a decade before transitioning to the public media market by joining KETC in 1981 as the director of operations. Eventually, he was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. He presided over the design and construction of the station’s new state-of-the-art facility.
In 2001, he moved on to KNME-TV in Albuquerque, N.M. There he was promoted to general manager and chief executive officer, increased viewership levels and oversaw the conversion of the channel’s signal from analog to digital.
In June 2008, he was hired for the position of vice president by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Regardless of what field of media you go into or how you are doing in your career, there are things that Garcia suggests students and alumni remember. The field changes with time, and networking is very important.
“I think change is a constant,” Garcia observed. “That is the one everlasting lesson that I’ve taken from this.”
He said there is a great deal of opportunity, but is has a lot to do with time and place, people and relationship.
“No one is ever successful on their own. I owe most of my success to the people with whom I’ve been privileged to work,” Garcia explained.
Garcia recommends that students have a plan in mind when they start their education. Educating themselves about their career choices will help them plan their schooling and networking opportunities. Even those who are unsure about their desired path can build a list of contacts.
“Don’t wait until your senior year. Don’t wait until you graduate,” Garcia cautioned. “Begin the process of learning about the real world outside of the academic world (early). Begin building your network. Begin building a list of options.”
Garcia also has recommendations for alumni. He suggests that alumni mentor students in their field and set up internships to help students get experience in the media.
“Be open to welcoming those people who are students into your company for a visit,” he said. “Make yourself available to talk with them.”
Garcia stressed the importance of relationships with other people in every phase of your career.
“Someone told me at SIU a long time ago that as you were going up the ladder in your career, to pay particular attention to the people you were passing on the ladder because you would certainly see them on the way down.”