Most college students attend a university in the hopes of finding their dream job after graduation. Freshman communications major Meagan Funt is one step ahead of the game: She has already landed her dream job, an internship at Awesomeness TV, a YouTube channel in LA where she writes, produces, and stars in the Awesomeness Hollywood shorts. Meagan drives to LA twice a week and writes a daily report about Ariana Grande, or, as the report is called, “Ariana Gran-day.” Here is what Meagan has to say about her internship.
HC: What is a typical day like?
MF: For almost every day there is a star assigned to it. Tuesday just happened to be Ariana Grande’s and that’s when I’m there. I just pull three stories from the latest Ariana news and then I type it up into a script, and then set up the camera, perform it, and then there are editors who edit it and fill out the grid chart and upload it, and then it’s on YouTube!
HC: How many hours a day do you spend there?
MF: Generally my hours are from about 9 or 10 in the morning to 2 or 3 in the afternoon Tuesday/Thursdays, but if I get there early enough at 9, since I am part of the writing team, I can write my scripts, which I love doing because it’s just more personal that way. I feel a little bit more accomplished than just reading somebody else’s words. I am supposed to leave at 2 or 3 but I love it so much that sometimes I stay even longer and am able to write for the next day or the day after that.
HC: How did you get the internship?
MF: I got the internship because I used to do YouTube when I was younger in middle school. I knew a lot of famous YouTube beauty gurus and they took me to BeautyCon, which was a beauty convention in LA last summer. I’ve always watched Awesomeness TV, always wanted to be a part of it, but it wasn’t until I saw them at BeautyCon when I just knew I had to take the shot. My number one motto is to take every chance you can. I just went up to the producer and introduced myself. I explained who I am, where I go to school, and how much I want to work with her. Right off the bat, she gave me her email. I emailed her the next day, and then she offered me the two internships within an hour!
HC: How long will you intern at Awesomeness TV?
MF: Nothing is set in stone as of right now. It’s a class credit so I am getting three credits for the internship. It’ll end when classes end in December, but I was talking to my mentor, who said that he thinks I’m doing a great job and doesn’t want me to end anytime soon. Hopefully that is a foretelling that I will be there longer and maybe it’ll turn into a career option, rather than just an internship.
HC: How does this internship relate to what you want to do in life?
MF: Each stage of my life has a dream goal that I just need to accomplish to get to the next one. This stage of my life was Awesomeness TV. I knew I wanted to be in broadcast journalism. I knew I needed to be in the field, being hands-on, and Awesomeness was the place to do it. I ended up fulfilling that dream already. Further down the line I would love to venture onto E! News and do more pop culture broadcasting because I love that field. And even further down the line, I want to become more serious in the career and end up at some place like CNN, really talking about important world events.
HC: What has been your favorite experience interning at Awesomeness TV?
MF: My first day ever, within 15 minutes of being there, they asked me if I had ever written for a news report. I was thinking that this is my first week of my freshman year in college and suddenly got so nervous. There were no other interns. I was thinking that this is the test, and that this is why everyone else is gone because they all get fired after this step. I was honestly so afraid. I ended up going downstairs, watched a few of the ones he had already done, and wrote some stories in the form that he wanted. He came downstairs and read them aloud in front of the whole office. He stopped for a second, looked at me, and said, “This is great. We’ll use it. Let’s go.” I was like, “Mission complete, I’m staying.”
Watch Meagan every Tuesday on Awesomeness TV at http://youtu.be/XBRiXVYDUm0.