Jonathon Cerio: Starting Over and Going All-In

Story and photo by Aubrie Tolliver

Syracuse, NY—The year is 2008.

The New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.  The United States elects its first African-American president. And Syracuse-native Jonathon Cerio, fresh out of the master’s program at Syracuse University, packs his bags and heads to the place where many people with a degree in television, radio and film go to make it big—Los Angeles.

Still, Cerio says he was uncertain about his career. In L.A., he received job opportunities working as a production assistant for shows such as American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. But, Cerio says it wasn't all it cracked up to be.

"With guest relations, you’re more like a glorified usher for shows," Cerio said. "So yes, I did work on shows like Price is Right, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, which sounds pretty cool and great to have on a resume. But, when you really get down to the nuts and bolts of it, basically I was babysitting a bunch of people, couple hundred people, telling them where to go, where to sit, what not to do, when they could use the bathroom, when they had to stay still."

After two and a half years of working in the City of Dreams, Cerio knew one thing with great certainty: there’s no place like home. He moved back to the East Coast to be closer to his family.

“I wanted to give it a real, good go and see if I could make it happen,” Cerio said. “Had some successes, some failures... I made the decision that family is more important.”

Luckily, there is such a thing as second chances.

Now, Cerio has returned to Syracuse University and is in pursuit of his second master’s degree—this time in broadcast and digital journalism. With a much clearer vision of his future, he hopes to one day be working as a color commentator for World Wrestling Entertainment.

It's been eight years since his first graduation from Newhouse and Cerio doing it all over again. But, he says it will all be worth it in the end.

"Yeah, it’s another 50, 60 grand in loans," Cerio said, "but you only live once and I’m going to put all the chips on the table and see what happens."

Listen to Cerio's complete interview here.

Full Transcript of Interview:

Q: Jon, you finished your TRF master’s degree and went to L.A. Can you tell me about your experience in L.A.?

A: LA is something I always wanted to do. I wanted to move out there. Doing the TRF program that’s what everyone is driven in to their mindset. You have to either do LA or New York City. And I was kind of tossed back and forth about what I wanted to do but I’ve always been interested in Cali, L.A., and I wanted to see what it was like. So I moved out there, took a chance, gave it two and a half years. A lot of people just quit after six months and say it's not for them but I wanted to give it a real, good go and see if I could make it happen. Had some successes. Some failures. Ultimately, though, I realized it wasn’t for me. Its more of a place to visit than a place to live for me.

Q: Were there are any opportunities that you were presented with? Any filming or T.V. experience?

A: Basically, you have to start from scratch out there. It doesn’t matter how much experience, how much academia you have in your background when you’re in LA. If you’re not in the know with the right people you’re basically starting out from scratch. So, I worked for free doing PA gigs for little independent movies or little commercials or whatever it might have been just to get the experience and get the contacts. Eventually, I ended up getting a job working for CBS, getting to do guest relations which sounds kind of glamorous but in actuality it really wasn’t. With guest relations you’re more like a glorified usher for shows. So yes, I did work on shows like Price is Right, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, which sounds pretty cool and great to have on a resume, but when you really get down to the nuts and bolts of it, basically I was babysitting a bunch of people, couple hundred people, telling them where to go, where to sit, what not to do, when they could use the bathroom, when they had to stay still. The PA gigs I did out there they were okay. It wasn’t a great learning experience. And what I had basically got from it mostly is that it wasn’t really what I wanted to do for a career.

Q: When and why did you decide to come back to Syracuse to pursue BDJ?

A: After the two and a half years in LA, I realized I wanted to come back to the east coast. Seeing my family once a year wasn’t really cutting it for me. And I came to a realization out there. I said to myself, ‘You know what, what happens if I am successful out here. What happens if I can get the big paying job, the big title. Would I be happy?’ and I really thought about that for a good long time and I realized, you know what I still wouldn’t be happy out here. It's not for me. So I made the decision that family is more important and focusing on the East Coast opportunities. Personally for me, I’m a huge fan of World Wrestling Entertainment, ESPN and just to have that all in the Connecticut area just a few hours really from Syracuse or, if I was to move to the New York City area, within an hour of getting to Stamford. it just seems like a much better option for me. And that’s why I came to the realization that it was time to move back East. Be close to family and be close to the opportunities I really wanted.

Q: Say the time has come and you graduated with your master’s degree, what do you see yourself doing in five years, ten years? What’s your plan’?

A: If you don’t see me in the WWE there’s going to be a problem. Basically, BDJ is something that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. I knew about the Mike Tiricos, about the Bob Costases, Sean McDonoughs, Michael Cole for that matter. I knew they came from Syracuse and I always knew, hey, I went to Newhouse, but did I really go for what I was supposed to go to Newhouse for? TRF is a great program and it gave me some great opportunities. But it wasn’t sports broadcasting. It wasn’t Sports Emphasis. I knew I had to give it a shot one more time or else 10, 20 years down the road I’m going to be kicking myself thinking what would have happened if I just pushed myself and tried that. So, yeah, it’s another 50, 60 grand in loans and it's not the greatest time in the economy to be taking out more loans but you only live once and I’m going to put all the chips on the table and see what happens.