Carl Verna is getting ready to come back home. After establishing an enduring career in New York City working with top talent like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, and Busta Rhymes, the writer, producer, director, and Full Sail Film graduate is returning to the school as a lab specialist for the Producing Independent Films course.

The new class, part of the Film Bachelor’s Degree Program is slated to focus on the industrial, music video, episodic, and reality sectors of the filmmaking industry. “Countless experiences on music videos and commercials have given me an amazing insight into this side of the filmmaking process and I plan to impart that wisdom to my film students,” says Verna.

Of course, a teaching gig at his alma mater won’t prevent Verna from continuing to develop his professional career. “I know my business partner at Verna/Stein Multimedia can handle all the day to day rigmarole that I’ll be leaving behind when I come back to Florida,” he explains. Verna’s rigmarole in NYC usually consists of calling recording artists, managers and his own agent, meeting with his staff and checking rough cuts of his in-progress projects, and making sure everyone stays happy. “The rest of my day consists of writing treatments, bidding on jobs, meeting artists at their favorite hang out or recording studio…this can sometimes take me into the wee hours of the night. I get about four or five hours of sleep, then do it all over again. I love it!”

Currently, he and his partner, Patrick Stein, are gearing up for phase two after having finished pitching a reality show entitled My Hood, for VH1. Verna names Kristin Prouty at 51 Minds Entertainment in Hollywood, Mona Scott at Violator Management (50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes) and his Icon Entertainment agent, Greg Walker, as instrumental figures in helping launch the project. “My personal relationships with these people have really helped pave the way for the show and I thank them for that. Even if the show doesn’t go down, the experience of getting this far in the process has been incredible,” he says.

Meanwhile, Verna has kept busy working on music videos artists like Elephant Man, Cuban Link, Dru Hill and N.O.R.E., while also while writing a script for a feature length film. Verna says it’s hard to pinpoint his career highlights. “It’s really hard to pick because every time I accomplish something amazing, here comes the next amazing thing,” says Verna. “Another big deal was that I recently met with super producer, Swizz Beatz (DMX, Eve) who sought me out because he liked the rawness of my Purple City Byrd Gang video I directed for Purple City in conjunction with The Diplomats and Jim Jones.” That video also turned the head of DJ Premier – former producer for Biggie Smalls, Nas, and Jay Z – who counts the video among the all-time hip-hop classics. “Hearing that from DJ Premiere made me want to hug him. And I did, actually.”

With all the excitement that being in the scene can bring, Verna remains level headed. “Sometimes ten years of bliss can be too long, so I’m giving it up to teach. When I was in school, I learned valuable lessons from teachers that stayed too long in the biz without taking a break,” he explains. Full Sail may be a break from what he’s used to, but he’ll certainly be in a good place to stay in the mix. “I’m super impressed by how the school has grown. The entertainment industry is one of America’s biggest exports right now and we dominate with market share all over the globe. Full Sail is not only on the aware of the technology, but it also understands the ethos of the industry.”