No Land of Make-Believe : Management careers in exciting fields such as the entertainment industry are available to those who don’t lose sight of their goals.

I am manager of the Labor Department for Warner Bros. Studios facilities, the branch of the studio that runs the Warner Bros. lot. My department, which includes the Labor Utility Union (Local 724) and Crafts Services (Local 727), works both on and off production, constructing sets, preparing the stages for cast and crew, working during filming, and striking the sets when filming is over. In peak season, I have about 110 people under me, and during hiatus, when the television shows aren’t shooting, there’s about 45.

I get a great feeling of accomplishment and self-esteem from my work. When the studio is depending on this department to come through on an important job, and we do, it’s a great feeling. And when I see a movie up on the screen that we have worked on from the ground up, and it looks good, that definitely builds self-esteem.

Before coming here, I was a student at Cal State Northridge. I got sick and missed several weeks of school. So I decided to work for the rest of the semester. My brother was working here, so I asked him to get me a job.

When I first came to the lot, I fell in love with it. It’s an exciting place to be. No two days are alike; each day is a new adventure. And the people are so friendly. Everyone cares about everyone else and goes out of their way to be helpful. They’re like my second family.

A lot of things that happened while I was growing up contributed to my having a good life and a good job.

When I was a kid, crime, gangs and some drugs were part of my neighborhood environment. Not quite on the scale it is now, but it was definitely there to tempt me. My friends weren’t into that. Most of us were into athletics. So having that support group was a help.

I was always into sports. I ran cross country, played football and ran track. Besides keeping me off the streets and busy, it taught me discipline, teamwork and leadership. I had great coaches who turned football or baseball into life messages. When we lost, it was “Hey, next time you’ll just work a little harder and you’ll achieve what you want.” I learned that you put in the practice time, and whatever you put into it, that’s what you take out. I’ve carried that with me all my life.

My parents were very influential in my brother’s and my upbringing. We were raised to take pride in ourselves. We always had strong values. My parents would say: Don’t do something because everyone else is doing it. Do what you know is right. If your buddy’s going out and doing something wrong, you can make the choice not to do it. That was very important in our upbringing.

Education and careers were definitely stressed in our house. I had to come home and study every day, and my brothers and I all went to college. We were given the idea that we could accomplish anything we wanted to if we worked hard enough.

If I were talking to kids in my old neighborhood, I would say: Avoid gangs and drugs. Gangs are a dead-end, a loser’s game. There’s no future once you get in. Your end result will be failure, and that’s not a goal. I visit my old neighborhood and talk to people who were in gangs, and the people who took education seriously are doing better. And drugs--that’s something that can kill you. They can destroy your life, your family and your future, and all for a few minutes of pleasure. Don’t play around with them.

At the time I started, minorities were just beginning to get into the entertainment industry. Things have changed drastically since then. Now, there’s a lot more black people in executive positions and in higher echelons in general. And the numbers have increased on all levels.

The entertainment business is definitely a great industry for minorities to be in. There’s a lot of creativity and good opportunity for advancement, and the people are wonderful.

Go to college and be a theater arts major. Try to study every area of the business and talk to as many people as you can, and send your resume to all the studios.

You have to put something into life if you want anything out of life. Things aren’t just going to come to you. So go out there and work hard, and don’t give up till you do get what you want.