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BeaufortLifestyle.com | February 2025 11Thousands of collegiate students nationwide yearn for a chance to work in the film industry. Many believe their only opportunity is to attend a large, West Coast university; however, this opportunity is offered right in the Lowcountry for students at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. Award-winning TV producer Caroline Sawyer, PhD, is the director of the Sand Shark Center for Innovative Media and USCB Associate Professor in Communication Studies since 2016. Dr. Sawyer currently produces the Emmy-nominated, nationally distributed show, By The River, being rebranded as Books By The River this season. Books By The River is a collaboration between USCB and SCETV, which allows Communication Studies students focusing on media to acquire various skills in TV production, such as camera operation, assisting, and producing. In 2020, when COVID affected the country, Dr. Sawyer realized it created a need in Beaufort County. %u201cDuring COVID, many organizations, such as nonprofits, governmental agencies, and churches, realized the need to share their live content with their constituents via digital media due to the COVID-19 gathering restrictions. This need demonstrated that even the smallest organization can make its content accessible to all. What%u2019s great for our media students is that this need and want continues to grow, which in turn creates employment opportunities for our graduates.%u201d Over the last eight years of Dr. Sawyer%u2019s involvement with the media focus of the Communication Studies Program, many students have received their degrees and gone on to work for highly desired media companies. WSAV reporter Danielle Cobb (Class of 2024) stated how the media program has guided her in her current career path. %u201cUSCB truly shaped my success in the media industry by providing a solid foundation in both technical and practical aspects of communication. As a reporter, my work depends on clear and effective communication, whether interacting with individuals one-on-one or conveying a story to a broader audience. The media-based courses at USCB gave me hands-on experience with operating cameras, editing software, and producing content, ensuring I was industry-ready from day one. Without such courses, I would have come into the industry ten steps behind. The internships I participated in also allowed me to gain real-world experience, helping me build the skills I needed to succeed in the field.%u201d Broadcast Team Member at Savannah Bananas, Sophia Peach (Class of 2022), similarly credited the media program. %u201cI have always been interested in media, but it wasn%u2019t until the help and encouragement from a mentor, Dr. Sawyer, that I was able to learn all about what it takes to work in the media industry. I began working with USCB athletics as a camera operator for soccer, baseball, and softball games. During my senior year, I began directing and producing, which has provided a solid foundation for my career after college.%u201d Additionally, Louis Brown, an executive assistant at Warner Brothers Entertainment (Class of 2018), stated, %u201cUSCB cultured an environment which was conducive for learning in a professional production setting.%u201d The media focus of the Communication Studies Program at USCB is changing the lives of students, and Dr. Sawyer wanted to continue to expand on its success. With USCB%u2019s media part of the program thriving, Dr. Sawyer wanted to continue to enhance her students%u2019 education. Part of her duties as the director of Sand Shark Center for Innovative Media is to collaborate on media projects. %u201cI had been going to the Beaufort International Film Festival for years and our media students would volunteer. Over time, I got to know Ron Tucker (CoFilm Director of BIFF), and we continued to reconnect. We learned that we both wanted to grow the campus and film society. The production side was growing on campus, and we continued down that path, but we