By Kiana Hohman
Thea Bergeron is the action star of J-School alumni, having filmed from helicopters, private planes, trains, and speeding SUVs.
A lot of this production excitement comes courtesy of her main client, Nike. Bergeron has been producing videos with Nike as a freelance senior creative video producer for more than seven years. Her videos are used in Nike stores, online, and many other platforms.
“My job has provided me with a lifetime of unforgettable experiences,” Bergeron said.
Her career started with a bachelor’s in communication, and a minor in business, from Southern Oregon University in 1994. She then moved to Montana and got a bachelor’s in journalism in 1999.
After graduating from UM, Bergeron moved back to Oregon and interned for Oregon Public Broadcasting. She then got hired as a video production assistant, and worked her way up from there.
As a senior creative producer at Nike, Bergeron, now 47, works on projects from “concept to completion.” She deals with the budget, hiring talent, securing locations and directing shoots.
“My favorite part of the job is telling a story,” she said.
Although based in Portland, Bergeron’s job takes her all over the world from Dubai to Japan and Uruguay.
Bergeron said college helped expand her knowledge and worldview. It is important to understand what the goal is and go after it, she said.
“It just takes passion, hard work, tenacity, lots of late nights and long days,” said Bergeron. “There are a lot of people that do this job, so you have to be the best at what you do and be kind to everyone because it all comes back around.”
This story, which is part of a Thanksgiving week series called “Thank a J-School Grad,” was produced by the Fall 2018 Social Media and Engagement class at the Journalism School.
