Success Story

Jesse Loyd - TV Producer

Lights, Camera, Career

Jesse Loyd, a producer at MTV in New York City, can trace the start of his career directly back to his school days in Virginia.

“I knew since junior high that I wanted to work in television,” Loyd recalls. The Television Production class at York High School enabled Jesse to take the first step toward his goal.

“That class really taught me all of the basics I needed at that time.”

Through that one elective, Jesse was exposed to basic producing, directing, and shooting. “It helped you get an eye for what it means to put a show together.”

Today, as he shoots, directs, and edits shows for MTV, Jesse proves that he definitely “has the eye.”

John Mocello - Media Arts & Special Projects Coordinator

Crime Scene Instruction

John Mocello does a lot of shooting in his law enforcement career – but it’s usually with a camera instead of a firearm. He’s the Media Arts Specialist at the Central Shenandoah Criminal Justice Training Academy, and is responsible for creating multimedia instructional materials (such as videos and photo presentations) for the Academy. He’s also an auxiliary member of the Harrisonburg PD.

In a sense, John’s dual career actually began on the football field. “My high school football coach was also the Television Production teacher, and he encouraged me to take his class.”

Then, as he studied Criminology in college, a unique opportunity arose. “One of my professors was also the executive director of the Criminal Justice Academy at the time...and he told me about this spot here at the Academy. I might have just gone straight into law enforcement, but now I get to see it from a different angle.”

Crystal Self - Photographer’s Assistant

Photo Opps

Students have to live with their school pictures for the rest of their lives —so it’s a good thing Crystal Self is there to make sure they don’t have a “rooster tail” spoiling the special shot. She’s a portrait photographer’s assistant, and as she explains it, “I travel with the photographer, help with setup, then work with all the kids to make sure they look good before we take the portrait.”

Once the photos are taken, she helps process the orders: “I look at all the photos – and make sure everything looks good before we send them out.” And by the way, she does this for about 4,000 sittings a year (not to mention assisting her employers with other commercial and portraiture assignments).

Crystal became prepared for this job with studies at Chesterfield Technical Center, where she enjoyed the comprehensive scope of studies. “They teach you the photography side AND the business side of it, which is nice.”