Career Discovery Week 2025 at Paramount Global
By: Harold Anderson
Last Month, Paramount Global once again coordinated with the Partnership for New York City on Career Discovery Week. Career Discovery Week is part of NYC Public Schools Student Pathways, an expansion of career-connected learning that provides work-based learning opportunities and career exposure. More than 85 of the city’s major employers joined forces this year to help build a bridge from the city’s classrooms to the world of business. This year, Paramount partnered with students from Robert Goddard High School and Information Technology High School in Queens for a day full of career-focused workshops and employee-led sessions.
The morning kicked off at Paramount’s Times Square headquarters with a Paramount company overview presentation for the students showcasing the massive portfolio of brands and platforms. From there, Harold Anderson, Coordinator for Paramount’s Social Responsibility team, moderated a powerhouse executive Career Path Panel + Q&A featuring:
- Ashley Priest – Vice President of Corporate Communications, CBS & Paramount International Markets
- Regan Forman – Vice President of Global Franchise Strategy, Paramount Consumer Products and Experiences
- Colleen Reilly – Director Line Producer, Paramount Creative & Strategy
- Luke Kwon - Senior Financial Analyst, Paramount Tech Finance
-- all of whom shared hugely inspirational advice and profound insights from their career!
The day culminated with two immersive creative workshops aimed at providing an opportunity to get immersed in different parts of the content creation cycle. The students began with a mobile content making workshop which tasked them with
creating short content reels using their mobile devices. The workshop was facilitated by Reel Works, a non-profit that mentors and empowers underserved NYC youth to share their stories through filmmaking, thus creating a springboard to successful careers in media and beyond. The students proceeded with a storytelling workshop utilizing storyboards to create a 30-second advertisement spot for Paramount using giant animation-inspired storyboard templates. Each team presented their work at the end of the activity, and the ideas shared were incredibly creative brand collaborations featuring their favorite characters from shows like SpongeBob and South Park.
The teachers and students at both schools expressed great appreciation for the opportunity. The teachers were impressed by how confidently the students presented their storyboards and engaged in insightful conversations with multiple Paramount teams. Dimitri McKetney, CTE Program Director at Robert Goddard High School, shared “The opportunity was truly inspiring. It was clear from [the students] engagement during the visit, after the visit, and even upon walking in and seeing their school's name in bright lights on Broadway, that they learned a great deal and came away with a deeper understanding of the careers and opportunities within Paramount.”
Paramount looks forward to furthering our commitment to unleashing the power of content for good to inspire change. Our partnership with Career Discovery Week continues to serve as a great reminder of this commitment.
