UW-Madison Junior Alyssa Sage has always been interested in the entertainment industry. Luckily for her she was awarded the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles for the American Music Awards through her impressive internship with the App “Bites”. See what Alyssa has to say about her experience and what big thing is next in her life.
Major: Journalism with a Certificate in Business
Campus Involvement:
I’m the Fashion News Correspondent and a member of the Fashion Team for fashion and lifestyle magazine MODA
Tell us about Bites:
Bites is a social media platform used to facilitate audience participation. Whether you’re tuning in to your favorite sports game, award show or interested in the latest pop culture news, the Bites mobile phone app enables users to engage in interactive content such as trivia questions, ratings, predictions and poll questions. The company recently began pursuing entertainment industry companies to see how our platform can further their efforts. A few months ago my CEO met with Justin Bieber’s agent about him creating his own channel (HUGE Justin Bieber fan). I’m currently in charge of running the American Music Awards and pop culture channels on the app.
How long have you interned for the app? I started interning in June.
You just had the amazing opportunity to go the American Music Awards, how awesome was that?
The AMAs experience was amazing. I love the west coast so just being in that location in general combined with such a talent-rich atmosphere was incredible. Plus, I’ve always dreamed of first-hand creeping on red carpet fashions so I can check that off my list.
What was your favorite musical act?
Sadly, I was working in the basement of the theatre following the show via a soundless TV the entire time so I didn’t get to see any of the musical acts live. However, we did go to the venue the day before the show to work and I got to sit in on Lady Gaga’s rehearsal! Being that close to her was such an adrenaline rush.
Did you meet anyone famous?
Most of the people I met were behind-the-scenes, business people. I didn’t formally meet any celebs but I got pretty close to Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Luke Bryan which was satisfying enough for me! I got to see many of the red carpet performances and also walked past my career idol Giuliana Rancic on the red carpet, which was AMAZING.
What are your short and long-term career goals?
My career goals seem to change weekly- my eyes are always opening to new fields and opportunities. Right now, my short term goal is to land an internship on either the east or west coast this summer. If I study abroad in London this fall I’d love to get a fashion or media-related internship too. In the long term, I’d love to ultimately end up at a fashion magazine as a columnist or editor. I’m really into the entertainment industry so I’d also love to be involved in public relations for a film production company or record label. After being backstage at the AMAs I realized how much I would enjoy being involved in the production of a huge event like an award show too.