The perfect internship, an illusive, almost unthinkable opportunity at a company you hope to work for, doing what you hope to do, and being mentored by a knowledgeable veteran of the field, is an experience few are lucky enough to find. Maxwell Peters, a senior Marketing Communications major with a Photography minor, became one of these lucky people when he began his internship at Nickelodeon this past summer in New York City.
As the Casting and Talent Intern at Nickelodeon, Peters had two internships in one. The job involved bridging the two sectors of Nickelodeon. As a casting intern, he would sit in on casting sessions for shows from Dora the Explorer to new, in-development shows, as well as looking through reels and taking them around NYC. As a talent intern, he would attend events like the Transformers premier where he was “making sure the red carpet was running as it should” and work the pre-production for events.
Because his internship had such varying responsibilities, “it was always something new…I never knew everything I was going to do during the day, which is why [he] enjoyed myself so much.” No day was this more true then the day Maxwell Peters got to meet Emma Watson. After being told to go home and change into something more formal during lunch, Peters was surprised with the assignment of handler for Watson. In shock, Peters rushed over to the hotel Emma Watson was staying at, where he was given a key to the room and met by the publicist. All the while, Maxwell was “wondering how it is happening, this is all so surreal.” Then came the moment when he finally got to meet her, “my jaw literally dropped,” Peters explains, “this is the girl I’ve had a crush on since the third movie.” Then the experience became even more unbelievable when he got the chance to ride in the limo with Watson en route to the red carpet. She was a totally normal girl, talking about college, movies, and her experience as Hermione.
With days like that, it is no wonder Peters had such a great time at his internship, but there was more to it. Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Viacom and MTV Networks, was able to bring in a wide variety of “amazing lecturers that spoke about getting jobs and growth in companies.” A MTV Video Music Awards producer gave advice that has since stuck with Maxwell. The producer told the interns “if you are handed a leadership opportunity that you don’t think you’re ready for, just take it and run with it to see what becomes of it because there will always be people there to catch you when you fall.” Peters tries to do this himself, always taking risks.
Taking the internship itself was a chance. His choices at the end of last semester were Conde Nast and Nickelodeon, marketing or talent and casting. He had already had many marketing internships and learned about ad sales, so he “wanted to pick something that was a little out of the box and I haven’t been exposed to much.”
Going after a new type of internship has been especially rewarding for Peters. In light of his responsibilities as talent internship, he hopes to pursue talent operations. “Dealing with logistical stuff,” he found, “is where [his] strengths lie.”
So, how could you get the perfect internship? Maxwell reminds you “don’t be afraid to throw yourself out there…and find that company you think you will really fit into and really apply yourself.” It is as simple as going to the careers section of a company’s website and looking up information about their internship programs. Most large companies have an extensive intern program with openings and many fields.
photo by Matt Caron