Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Marlon Campbell - Contributed Photo

Each year, potential entrepreneurs leave the University of the West Indies (UWI) to pursue various ventures, including opportunities in the entertainment industry.

There are however, those persons who find a base promoting parties at the institution.

Promoter Marlon Campbell told The STAR that he learnt many skills while serving as cultural entertainment activities chairperson (CEAC) on the guild.

"You form a few links to help you; people expect seh yuh have some sense. My degree has not helped me get a job, but the stuff I learnt outside of that in entertainment helped."

Campbell's partners are Ian Bourne and Andrew Bellamy, who operate the site watever.com.

Bellamy's beginnings

Five years ago, Bellamy, a former CEAC on the UWI guild, along with a few friends at UWI, established watever.com. Since then, they have found success as promoters and business men.

"When we started out, people were like 'you have a website, cool', but now it's a business and we pride ourselves on becoming more professional,'' said Bourne, watever.com's marketing manager. "While you learn at school, you can put it into the business world."

Another entertainment duo are Shadiik Manya and André Burnett from Cerberus Promotions, organisers of parties such as 'Wet Frenzy', 'Transcended' and 'Omega' - which are all held in St Elizabeth.

The two started promoting parties while at UWI and claim that that is where they learnt the ropes.

"You learn a lot about the business from helping out at UWI, like where to look for sponsorship, new fun thematic ideas for parties, and the business of how it works. This is something that we plan to pursue for years to turn St Elizabeth into an entertainment centre," said Manya.

Big start

Jerome Hamilton of Headline Entertainment and promoter of 'Good Times' got his big start in entertainment from his days as CEAC at UWI.

Hamilton said that his love for music coupled with his experiences at UWI whetted his interest in the industry.

Said Hamilton: "Coming out of UWI, I realised that it was big business outside. I'm disappointed that other young professionals have not come into the entertainment business because we need to develop the professionalism. I'm hoping the new push at UWI from the Reggae Studies Unit will make everyone aware that they need to work with Jamaica's oil and gold, which is our culture."