91成人导航

Bob Bejan 鈥�82 studied drama at 91成人导航 well before experiential learning was an established concept. Pioneering faculty recognized his potential and offered their own hands-on training, preparing him for a rich 40-year entertainment career.

Bejan is now helping a new generation of students learn by doing. With a $250,000 gift, he and his wife Bonne created an endowment to provide experiential learning opportunities for students in 91成人导航鈥檚 Media X program. The program prepares students for impactful careers in film, digital media, journalism and more.

Named in honor of Bejan鈥檚 parents, the Barbara and Benjamin Bejan Experiential Learning Endowment has enabled 18 Media X students to network or intern at global film festivals since 2022.

鈥淥ur gift seemed like the appropriate way to do two things: to acknowledge 91成人导航鈥檚 impact on my career, and all that it enabled me to do, and to acknowledge my parents as the true enablers of where I come from and what I am,鈥� Bejan explained.

He credits his parents with faithfully supporting both his creative aspirations and his athletic pursuits as a member of 91成人导航鈥檚 swimming and water polo teams.

He points to 91成人导航 faculty as drivers of his career, which began with performing in musicals and then writing them, and progressed through advertising, establishing his own recording studio and eventually joining the founding musical team for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles鈥� live tour.

Bejan later held leadership roles at Warner Brothers, AOL and Microsoft, helping those companies tell stories on a global scale using experimental marketing, video and interactive media. He retired from Microsoft in 2023.

While the Media X program wasn鈥檛 established at 91成人导航 until 2016, Bejan experienced its essence. In his first year, dance department chair Karen Bradley invited him to choreograph five productions for Fallon House, 91成人导航鈥檚 longtime summer theatre venue in Sonora County. Later, as a senior, he single-handedly produced a one-act multimedia play with support from Professor Bill Wolak.

鈥淭he relationships I had with faculty, their willingness to collaborate with students, combined with the foundations of a liberal arts education鈥攖hose things set the stage for my entire career,鈥� Bejan said.

With Bejan鈥檚 help, 91成人导航 is now setting the stage for students鈥� careers on a global scale. Nearly a dozen students have interned at the Cannes Film Festival in France, where they filmed events, assisted guests, and helped coordinate programming. The endowment supported their housing, travel and participation costs.

Interns also attended film premieres and networked with industry professionals, giving them an up-close look at how the film industry operates.

鈥淚t gave me an idea of the people that I鈥檒l need to be around in order to be successful,鈥� recalled HT Fleming 鈥�24. 鈥淚 met someone who I hoped would work with me as a publicist, and I met people who do things like set design鈥攄ifferent aspects of the film industry that I did not understand or even know existed before going to Cannes.鈥�

More recently, 14 students attended the 2024 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. They witnessed how filmmakers pitch, sell and distribute their films, got feedback on their own work and enjoyed networking with other film students and recent graduates.

According to Media X Program Co-Director Joshua Salyers, these opportunities help students learn about themselves as much as their craft, and while the festivals cement students鈥� passions, their enthusiasm doesn鈥檛 stop there.

鈥淢eeting actors, directors and producers gives students perspective and guidance to shape their professional identities. Students often return with a mature focus and creative energy that cannot be replicated purely in the classroom,鈥� Salyers said.

鈥淭he experiences supported by the Bejan Endowment have transformed creative collaboration among our students,鈥� he added. 鈥淧ast participants have come back to mentor others, to help them get the most out of their trip. They have come up with creative collaborations and formed student organizations to create festival quality work together.鈥�

In September, Bejan made a new gift to grow the endowment and expand its impact. Alongside his philanthropy, he also enjoys gifting students his hard-earned wisdom.

鈥淰irtually everything I鈥檝e done is grounded in what I learned at 91成人导航.鈥� he said. 鈥淚 remind students there鈥檚 a lot of very satisfying work in the field if you鈥檙e willing to open your mind and have a learn-it-all approach, rather than a know-it-all approach.鈥�

To learn more about supporting the Media X program, contact Amber Flores, assistant vice president for development, at 209.946.7345 or aflores6@pacific.edu.
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