On March 6, 2025, at the Owen’s Community College Center for Fine & Performing Arts, the department will put on program-centric sessions relating to majors in the Creative Arts & Media field– the event returns to campus as Spark Summit.
Here, attendees can network with professionals in animation, broadcasting, fine arts, graphic design, music, photography, recording arts, theatre, and more.
There will be over 20 sessions on careers and job skills. In addition to session speakers, there will be segments related to artificial intelligence and internships.
“The idea was to provide our current students, our alumni and prospective students the opportunity to network with professionals in the visual and performing arts and also just to learn more about the careers in the arts too,” Jeremy Meier, chair of the Creative Arts and Media Department at Owen’s Community College said.
Despite the new name, this event has been put on in the past. Originating in the early 2000s, the event was previously known as The Networking Fair and Symposium, Meier said. He continued, this event even adapted to and survived COVID-19 with virtual and hybrid years during 2021 and 2023.
The Spark Summit event is free, open to the public, and will begin at 9 am until around 4 pm. This year’s layout will contain rooms with specific sessions in certain spaces. This includes a Networking Simulation Room which offers portfolio and resume guidance. If interested in obtaining tips and advice on your credentials register for the Networking Simulation Room here.
Beyond the 45-minute career-related sessions and Networking Simulation Room, the first Keynote Speaker will begin at 9 am from assistant professor of the Disability Services Program at the University of Toledo, Becca Monteleone.
Monteleone intends to share strategies for writing accessibility for wide audiences: audiences that experience disabilities or different levels of education. Simply put, communication skills that guarantee comprehension, she said.
Following Monteleone speech, at noon a screening of the documentary, “The Trail Fire of 1961: Toledo Firefighting’s Deadliest Disaster,” will take place.
The film is about a deadly gasoline tanker explosion bursting into flames on Anthony Wayne Trail on June 10, 1961, leaving four firefighters killed and 80 injured.
After the screening, a panel discussion will occur. Panelists are those who contributed to the picture including; Joe Walter the executive producer, Steve Hanson the producer, Sandra McLendon the producer, Phillip Kaplan the writer and director, Ryan Lynch the producer and editor and Mark Reiter the audio mixer.
“The networking aspect is an important part throughout the event while students can go pick different sessions, we’re going to have networking tables in the central part of the building where they can meet people from these professional organizations, have one-on-one conversations and pick up some business cards. It is not a passive interaction,” Meier revealed.
For example, Film Toledo, which is a non-profit organization, will be present at the event. Meier added not to present a session, but for networking purposes, he shared.
The Spark Summit partnered with AAF Toledo (American Advertising Federation) to organize this event, gather more speakers and align their goals to benefit goers bringing them a professional experience from first-hand experts.
Here is a breakdown of the various sessions:
Category
Session
Internships & Job Skills
1. Planning for your Internship with Denise Grupp-Verbon
2. Preparation for a Successful Internship with Samuel Chang, Logan Sander and Ruth Chang
Artificial intelligence and user experience
1. Skills & Careers in User Experience with Keith Instone
2. The Secret Sauce to Marketing Automation with Lance Price Jr.
3. Using AI to Start a Business with LeSean Shaw
4. The AI Revolution in Marketing: Creativity Meets Data with Sandhya Simhan
5. Brand Marketing 101 and the Impact of AI on Branding with Louise Morgan
Communication
1. Journalism/Writing for a Non-Profit with Samuel Chang, Logan Sander and Ruth Chang
2. Here I am, Communicating with Denise Grupp-Verbon and Kimberly Minke
3. Decode Your Doubt: A Creative’s Guide to Confidence with Valerie Thompson
4. Growing Communities through Collaboration with Chris Eischen
5. Cultivating Community through Events with Olamide Awofeso
Art
TBD
Broadcast Media
1. Surviving Your Career (…and don’t start a podcast!) with Eric Chase
2. Creating Video Content with Purpose with Nathan Hursh
3. Working in Hollywood: what you need to know–and what almost all social media “filmmakers” get wrong with Nick Corbin
Graphic Design & Animation
1. Designing the Creativerse: Creativity Without Limits with Melanie Dunn
2. Animation with Taso Mastorakis
Music & Music Business
1. Playing for Work with Bart Delaney
Photography
1. De-Mystifying Light with Eric Eggly
Theatre
1. The Writers’ Room: Devising New Work with Desire Taylor
Session Presenters:
| Presenter | Photo |
| Olamide “Ola” Awofeso, Marketing & Events Professional |  |
| Bart Delaney, Suman Entertainment Group |  |
| Ruth Chang, Creative Director at Midstory |  |
| Samuel Chang, President of Midstory |  |
| Eric Chase, Cumulus Media |  |
| Nick Corbin, Nick Corbin Productions |  |
| Melanie Dunn, 3.7 Designs |  |
| Eric Eggly, Advertising Photographer, Inventor/Entrepreneur and Lighting Dude |  |
| Chris Eischen, Director of the Toledo Tech Loft |  |
| Denise Grupp-Verbon, School of Liberal Arts Internship Manager – Owens Community College |  |
| Steve Hanson, Founder & CEO of Hanson Inc. |  |
| Nathan Hursh, Senior Producer – WGTE Public Media |  |
| Keith Instone, Consultant – Dexterity User Experience |  |
| Linda Lucas, Toledo Public Library |  |
| Ryan Lynch, Owner of RL Creative Video Productions | No Photo |
| Taso Mastorakis, Senior Motion Graphics Designer – CBS Sports, Freelance Motion Graphics Designer | No Photo |
| Angie McGinnis, Manager of Career & Transfer Services at Owens Community College |  |
| Kimberly Minke, Professor of Social & Behavioral Science – Owens Community College | No Photo |
| Louise Morgan – Integrated Marketing Lead at Mozilla |  |
| Lance Price Jr. – Marketing Automation Product Owner & MS Dynamics SME |  |
| Mark Reiter, Owner – Level 2 Audio |  |
| Logan Sander, Editorial Director at Midstory |  |
| LeSean Shaw, COO of Actual Reality Technologies and Vice President of Empowered AI |  |
| Sandhya Simhan, Principal Product Marketing Manager – Glean |  |
| Desire Taylor, Lin-Manuel Miranda Fellow |  |
| Valerie Thompson, Owner of Leap Graphics and President of American Advertising Federation-Toledo |  |
| Joe Walter, President of the Toledo Firefighters Museum |
No Photo |
To register for sessions of interest at the Spark Summit on March 6, 2025, visit the Owen’s Community College Spark Summit website.
Center for Fine and Performing Arts
7270 Biniker Drive in Perrysburg
Visit: https://www.owens.edu/cam/sparksummit/
