NIU students will be getting their close-up in Tinseltown.

Thirteen communication majors will accompany Laura Vazquez, associate professor of communication, and Jeffrey Chown, director of communication graduate studies, in their trip to Los Angeles and Hollywood on Feb. 15.

Vazquez said the trip is to help students develop connections to the film industry after they graduate.

“The alum contacts are critical for students who want to live in L.A. and work in ‘the biz,'” Vaquez said. “Alums like Bill Weinman and Richard Katz have helped students find jobs, housing and meet others in the field in the past. Meeting people in L.A. is very important to getting jobs in the film industry.”

According to Northern Now, NIU’s University Magazine, Katz is a producer who has worked on “Crash” and “Seabiscuit,” and Weinman is a sound editor who worked on “The Shawshank Redemption” and “JFK.”

Vazquez said Katz is currently the president of a film production company, and Weinman is an editor for Disney Studios.

For the past three years, only Vazquez and Chown have attended the alumni meeting, which is sponsored by the NIU Alumni Association. This year, Vazquez said in an NIU press release that she is paying for the students’ airfare with part of the prize money won by four of Vazquez’s students.

Last semester, senior communication majors Chris Darkes, Brittany Samson, Sara Honchar, and Joe Giorgi tied for first place in the Chipotle Mexican Grill video advertisement contest with their video “Just the Fax.”

Half of the $15,000 prize money went to the students, while the other half went to the university. They will also be taking the trip to Los Angeles.

Giorgi said he believes the trip will be good as an introductory experience.

“[The trip] will help me get a feel for it. It is our ultimate goal, after all,” Giorgi said.

Darkes said the trip will give him an opportunity to network amongst alumni who are working in the industry.

“See if there’s any ‘in’ out there, and I’m glad NIU has a stake out there,” Darkes said.