Manship Students Turn a Music Festival into a Real-World Classroom

Manship students Cadence Laszlo and Dorene Hantzis work on getting the perfect shot. Friday, April 25, 2025. Photo credit: Manship student Kierra Evans.

“Ugh, this class is so boring.”

“Class is a great time to shop online.”

“This is never going to help me in the real world.”

Sound familiar? Teachers hear it all the time. But LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication students got a chance to prove that classroom skills do translate to the real world in a big and exciting way.

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For four days, the students moved out of the brick and mortar and into the colorful and cultural classroom of Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette.

The 39th annual Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette, is a vibrant blend of music, art and culture. The event also doubled as a hands-on learning lab for Manship students, who were out in the crowd shooting video, interviewing vendors and artists, and creating content in real time.

Cadence Laszlo, a journalism major, said the festival was a game-changer.

“Going from the classroom to this experience, I think my filming and shooting are really improving,” she said. “Especially learning about sequencing, and how wide, medium and tight shots help tell the story.”

One of Cadence’s stories focused on the folksy instruments of Cheramie Swamp Music.

“So, what’s your favorite part of making Cajun guitars?” she asked during an interview.

Throughout the day, she and her classmates captured stories from all corners of the festival and then turned them into social posts, feature packages and digital content.

For Taylor Pippin, a public relations major, the festival brought classroom lessons to life.

“In my media writing class, we learned how to interview people,” she said. “I’ve just been trying to apply that here with local shop owners.”

Whether it’s journalism, political communication, or public relations, these students are getting a taste of what it’s like to connect with real audiences across multiple platforms.

And, they’re loving it.

Class dismissed.