Michael Roccia
Staff Writer
Grace Harrison, senior digital media major, has created a TV sports talk show for her senior project, combining her passions for TV and sports.
“The Curveball” focuses on baseball: the major leagues, the Leopards and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or SCIAC.
While others in the digital media program were creating films, Harrison knew she wanted to focus on sports broadcasting.
“I had a lot more experience with broadcasting and knew I wanted to do that as a career,” Harrison said. “I thought this would be a great way to practice my skills and show what I’ve learned throughout my time at La Verne. It might give me a final product that I could show to people in hopes of getting a job.”
Harrison enlisted the help of friends and others. In all about 20 people did everything from working the cameras, getting the studio ready and providing on-camera interviews.
“The Curveball” also set up a GoFundMe account so that friends could contribute to the show. The GoFundMe $270, and is now closed.
“Creating this really had to do with the people I was surrounded with,” Harrison said.
Among her team was Nate Rodriguez, a January 2024 journalism alum, whom Harrison described as “a big inspiration.”
“(He) knows what he’s doing, especially within sports.”
“I definitely jumped at the opportunity,” Rodriguez said. “I got advice from Greg Amsinger, a longtime host for the MLB Network. He basically said, ‘Forget the bills and go anywhere that’s gonna put you on camera.’ When Grace asked me, there was no way I could say no. She gave me a role on camera and kind of let me have my own free reign with it.”
Another member of “The Curveball” team is Syndey Ferris, a senior communications major, who was one of the lead analysts of the show.
She said that being on camera and working with Harrison on her project was a great way to promote the idea of women in sports.
“Me and Grace are representing women in sports,” Ferris said. “We are showing we’re not just faces, and that we actually know the game. I started watching baseball and being interested in it when I was around 10 because I played softball. I was really excited to bring my knowledge of the game to the show. Representing women through this show really meant a lot to us.”
The other on-camera analyst is senior journalism major and former baseball player Jack Janes. Janes said he hopes that people can appreciate the amount of work that went into making the project, and believes it is on par with a professional show.
“Even though it’s a senior project, it’s legit,” Janes said. “We had a full production team and everything. This allows me to have my name out there. Being able to show future employers clips of me on a professional type of show it’s like, ‘Hey, I was on this show.’ It’ll definitely count as some sort of great experience for sure.”
The project will be screened at 7 p.m. May 19 as part of the communications department senior film screening event in La Fetra Auditorium.
After that, it will be uploaded and available to watch on Vimeo.
Michael Roccia can be reached at michael.roccia@laverne.edu.
Michael Roccia is a junior communications major with a concentration is public relations. This is his first semester as a staff writer for the Campus Times.
