Year: 2016 (Senior)
School: Barnard College
Major: English with a concentration in Theatre
Now, I’ve heard you’ve done some pretty amazing internships. Can you tell me where you worked and what you did there?
I’ve gotten the chance to do a lot of very interesting Ad Sales and Marketing internships, but by far the most amazing was the year I spent interning with the Disney|ABC Television Group. Last fall, I interned with the Marketing team at WABC-TV New York (the ABC owned and operated television station in NYC), then in the spring in Integrated Marketing and Ad Sales with ABC Family in NYC, and then over the summer in Integrated Marketing at ABC in Los Angeles. Integrated Marketing is by far my favorite thing to do, as it’s very creative and challenging: how can we best incorporate a brand into your favorite entertainment in a way that enhances the viewer experience rather than detracts from it?
What was your favorite part of your internship at ABC Family?
My favorite part of interning at ABC Family was probably attending the ABC Family Upfront in April. It was the first time the network had ever done a large-scale in-person upfront (typically an event that only major broadcast networks hold) and I got to work it. It’s basically a huge party where the network executives present to major advertisers what the network will look like for the next year and all the talent from the ABC Family shows attended as well. This year was particularly special because the network unveiled a complete rebranding and tons of new programming at the upfront. Getting to hear Tom Ascheim (ABC Family President) speak and hear about the new, and improved ABC Family, as well as the network’s place in The Walt Disney Company portfolio, was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever been a part of.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully, back at Disney in some capacity! Realistically though, I would love to be doing Integrated Marketing and Promotions for a media company in film or television. There is so much dynamic programming out there and I just want to be working on something I love. As for the city, I definitely want to be in New York or Los Angeles (wherever I can get hired!).
I understand that you got to meet the PLL girls. What was that like?
The four of them (Shay, Ashley, Lucy, and Troian) are these super-beautiful, super-famous, and seemingly super-human women who are actually relatively normal. Each one was a bit different, but, on the whole, they are mostly just sweet girls who were chatting with everyone, drinking, eating, and taking selfies. They just have more Twitter followers and better skin than the rest of us. As Pretty Little Liars showrunner, Marlene King always says, “pretty is in the title.”
Any other people you met that left you starstruck?
While at WABC I got to do a lot of promotional work with The Broadway League and I was able to meet Judith Light, a Broadway legend. She is 66, refreshingly normal, and someone who loves people and what she does. I was standing in the back of the room, and she immediately started chatting with me and asking me about school and theatre that I’ve done. When I mentioned I attended Barnard, she responded with a fully informed opinion on Barnard’s discussions on admitting transgender students. Check her out now in Transparent on Amazon or in Thérèse Raquin this season on Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre Company; she’s seriously amazing!