The Ad Photo NYC trip is an instrumental opportunity for 4th year ad photo students to form connections with industry professionals that often lead to employment opportunities in the future. This year, the class size has been capped at 20 students, leaving 7 on the wait list. SPAS administrators have explained that the 20 student maximum is due to a lack of space in some of the offices that will be visited on the trip.

So, we proposed a solution: organizing the trip's meetings on a sign-up basis.

Each meeting would have a number of students able to attend, based on the size of the space. This number would presumably never be fewer than 20, as that was the original class size, and some meetings, like those at a larger agency, for example, may have room for all 27. Then, we would all be able to sign up for the meetings that were most applicable to our own career trajectories (i.e. if you shoot mainly fashion, maybe you don't attend a meeting with a still life photographer, so that those who focus on still life can meet that person, and vice versa.)

In years past, the class has gone on around 13-15 meetings. Even if every single meeting was capped at 20 (which most likely won't be the case), with 27 students, each person would still be able to go to most of the meetings. Everyone would also still be able to attend the Photo Expo and RIT Alumni events that take place during that week. 

We ask for your support in this solution, to show the SPAS administrators and professors that this is a solution that would be embraced by all of the students who would be impacted. We are one of the most tight-knit classes that our program has ever had, and have shown time and time again that we care about each others successes. It is that camaraderie and spirit that will keep us all connected and lifting each other up as we venture into the industry, and it starts now.