New Degree Program at NESCom
Nikky Raney
New England School of Communications added a new degree program as of the Fall 2011 semester, and although it is quite new it already has ten students enrolled. The degree program is a Bachelors Degree in Entertainment Production; this means all the behind the scenes set ups that go on during cruises, on broadway, etc.
Ken Stacks has been with NESCom for over 20 years and helped pioneer this degree program. He says, “We decided to do first a concentration in theater/entertainment production then our accreditors said, ‘Wow this is bigger than just a concentration, you need your own degree program.”
Students who already were in the concentration did not have a hard time switching to the new major.
“Half of the courses were already in place, because they served a need for some of the other concentrations. And now we have about another ten courses up and running. Now we can get into technical direction and get much deeper into what the skill sets are for the entertainment industry,” Stacks explains.
The Gracie Theater is the location of many classes and it is the perfect place for the students to get the experience that they need. Brave Williams gives much of the instruction to the students.
“It really dovetails well with what NESCom already does, so it really fills a need especially in the Gracie,” tells Williams.
One of the ten students enrolled in this degree program is Clif Rogers, this is his third year at NESCom. Prior to being an Entertainment Production student he was in the Audio Program.
Rogers joined the Entertainment Production program since he was already doing some work in that field and truly enjoys theater as well as the technical side of it, and he wanted to expand his knowledge in that field.
“I have been able to get more time on a lighting board as well as learning a bunch of different construction skills.” Rogers continues, “I have been gaining time in a theater space that I expect to be able to use while in a bunch of different venues.”
This new degree program has so many job opportunities tied into it that it is sure to get the attention of potential students.
Zennie Abraham 
Bill Carroll