Full Sail Stories

In Full Sail’s Media Communications degree program, students learn to develop skills across marketing, design, storytelling, and more.

In their Integrated Marketing course, they learn the key components of developing effective media strategies as instructor Sankaya Hall applies her years of experience in entertainment marketing to her lessons in the classroom.

Sankaya – who has worked for NFL teams, including the New York Giants, as well as television networks such as MTV, VH1, TV One, and BET, and with A-list celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart – brings relevant industry experience to students as they dive into the world of marketing.

“While I'm teaching these concepts, I'm also sharing my personal experiences. So if I'm working with a brand, I'll often show students an asset that I worked on,’” Sankaya shares. “I show them behind the scenes of how it went from an idea on paper to actually being in production and airing on TV, or showing up at the Super Bowl, or whatever the end goal and the end deliverable looked like.”

A seasoned marketing professional, Sankaya guides students through the creation of their own integrated marketing campaign using tools and techniques she uses in her own work.

“Having been a part of these different events and different marketing campaigns, I know the ins and outs of being a part of an entire campaign. To have to teach that in four weeks is often a challenge, but it's a good challenge in that I get to really bring real-world experiences to the classroom,” says Sankaya.

Recently named to Orlando Business Journal’s "40 Under 40" list, which recognizes Orlando's best and brightest young professionals and emerging leaders, Sankaya’s impact on the Orlando community is far-reaching.

“I’ve been in Orlando for about five years now, and to have the impact that I've had and to have connected with the community as much as I have, that's been the most heartwarming thing,” she says. “I've done a lot of things in Orlando that are genuinely from the heart, but for someone else to see it and someone else to value and recognize my contributions to the community, it feels really good.”

Alongside her work as a Course Director at Full Sail, the marketing professional teaches a speech communication course at Valencia College and serves as a hospitality manager and volunteer recruiter for Music Fest Orlando. If that weren’t enough, Sankaya also works in a freelance, part-time role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But for Sankaya, becoming a more well-rounded educator is worth the extra effort, saying, “I want to be in a space where if I'm coming in giving someone advice, I want to have done it. I want to have been in the field. I want to talk to students and know what their pain points are but also know what makes them thrive, what will inspire them.”