Jay Matthews ‘20 used his Mitchell College connections to land a job in the field he loves. Working as a video editor for META (Maryland Esports Training Academy), Jay edits video of national college Esports games and packages them into hour-long videos. He also creates promotional videos for the Esports management and development company – which leads Mitchell’s Esports program, introduced in Spring 2021, providing coaching and other services for its Rocket League team.

“I’ve loved video editing since I was a kid. As a creative medium, it’s second nature to me, yet it never fails to teach me something new with every project I start. I’m glad to have a job in my field, doing what I love and learning new things about the field and the content I am helping to create. I knew absolutely nothing about Esports before taking this job, and I’ve learned so much since. I’m just grateful to be creating.”

Jay credits Paul Dunn, integrative career development coordinator, with pointing him to the job, and he urges other Mitchell students to take advantage of the college’s resources when pursuing job opportunities.

“I often advise my recently graduated friends to utilize their Mitchell connections, like professors and the Integrative Career Development Office, because they are very helpful. I absolutely have Mitchell to thank for helping me find the job! Paul Dunn got me the job interview and wrote a recommendation about why he thought I was a good fit for the job.”

Jay also felt well-prepared for his new job by his Mitchell coursework, using many of the software programs he worked to master as an undergraduate.

“I came to Mitchell with some editing experience, but there was so much I didn’t know that I learned in my college studies and now use every day. I use programs like Adobe After Effects and other Adobe programs all the time. I’m so incredibly thankful to Luke Walden, Karen Ward and so many others who helped me polish my skills to a professional level.”

Working in a fully remote job is something that Jay finds especially rewarding.

“I work with people all over the country, and it’s really cool! We all do our parts and collaborate digitally. It runs smoothly that way.”

Still, being remote during the pandemic has presented some challenges.

 “I’m a very social person, so I go a little cabin crazy with no excuse to leave my apartment. But now that I am fully vaccinated, I can bring my laptop and do more work in other places.”