Newhouse junior discovers new interests through Orange Television Network show

Television, radio and film (TRF) junior Meno Fahmy has done what most travelers only dream of: he’s lived on three different continents in less than two decades. The son of Egyptian diplomats, Fahmy was born in the United States and moved to Egypt in seventh grade for his parents’ profession. 

In tenth grade, the family left Egypt for Seoul, South Korea where Fahmy finished out his junior and senior years of high school. Fahmy wanted to attend college in the United States, and his interest in the communications industry led him to the Newhouse School.

“I lived in New Jersey when I was in the States so I knew I liked the east coast,” he says. “Newhouse had a great program, so it was an easy decision for me to come here.”

He started at Newhouse in the Fall 2020 semester, recognizing the immense change that college brings.

“It can be overwhelming, but that’s just what college is whether you’re international or not,” he says. “The only way to make the most of your time here is to get out of your own head.”

Initially coming in as a broadcast and digital journalism major, Fahmy recently declared his new major in television, radio and film with a minor in philosophy. His interests changed after joining “The Review Crew” his sophomore year, a program on Syracuse University’s student-run network, Orange Television Network. “The Review Crew” is a weekly multi-camera show dedicated to discussing television shows and new and old films. 

“I run a lot of the tech stuff [on Review Crew], working with the switchboard and making sure the audio’s sounding good,” Fahmy says. “General manager Meg Craig and Marlon Legaspi, who’s a studio technician there, are huge helps with all of that stuff when something isn’t working.”

Through his work for the show, Fahmy discovered his interest in television and film, and later attended some TRF classes before making the switch. 

“Multimedia Storytelling was a really interesting class,” he says. “Getting to create short films with other students for the first time was a very eye opening experience that helped me understand this was something I was interested in.”

Changing majors over halfway into his college career was a “scary” but “necessary” switch to guide the rest of his future endeavors.

Fahmy interned with the newly formed, Los Angeles-based production company American High, and now looks forward to a career in development or production post-graduation.

“If it weren’t for joining The Review Crew and completing my internship, I would have never found my interest in film and TV, and it completely would have changed my experiences on campus and in my future career.”