This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Ohio U chapter.
Bianca Hillier is a sophomore student at Ohio University who has received the
opportunity of a lifetime to intern with the TODAY show. She is currently living in
NYC and working day-to-day alongside news anchors we see every morning. Many
of us couldn’t imagine spending a whole semester away from Athens, but this girl
has worked her butt off strategically to make it to the top and beat out every other
possible intern for this position.
I got the chance to ask Bianca a few questions about her experiences and how she
made it to the top.
Her Campus Ohio U: You’re only in your second year of school, were you worried about not being
prepared for this internship or missing out on important classes?
Bianca Hillier: I actually did not have any fears about being prepared enough for my
internship at TODAY, and I think this actually says more about TODAY and
NBC than it does about me. Since the people who hired me are NBC staff, I
knew how qualified they were and trusted their intellect and decision-
making. I trusted that the people who worked here and hired me were wise
and experienced enough to only choose an intern who, through applications
and interviews, they knew were qualified enough. They knew my abilities
when they hired me and I knew they would not have hired me if they didn’t
truly think I was the most capable candidate. As for missing out on important classes,
I was upset that I was going to miss being a part of Midday and Hardwood Heroes.
Both will still be around when I return, though, so I’ll be ready for them when I get back
to Athens in the fall.
HCOU: If you could live anywhere and have any job, what job would it be and where?
BH: If I could live anywhere, it would be anywhere near my three older sisters.
Growing up, all of my extended family lived in Australia and South Africa, so I
never had aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents in my life. I don’t want that
to be the case for my own children.
I have never spent time in any city other than New York City, but I really
don’t think I need to. New York City is where I want to live because I want to
work for the network programs and this is where all of the jobs I would be
interested in are. My dream job, honestly, changes every month. One of my
dream jobs, though, is to either be a producer for TODAY or for 60 Minutes.
These two programs are inherently and fundamentally opposites, but I see
the value for each of them in the TV world today and respect the content that
has been produced at each for years. Both of these jobs would also be based
in NYC, so that only adds to why they would be a dream for me!
HCOU: What is the best and worst part of living in NYC?
BH: This is possibly the most difficult question of this entire interview. But, the
best part of living in NYC is that despite millions of people live here, each
person’s NYC life and experience is different from the person next to them.
Living in one part of the city as opposed to another changes daily life enough,
regardless of the other one hundred factors that create a chaotic city life. This
is the best part about the city because it inevitably attracts so many different
people for so many different reasons, so you get to meet people from all
different backgrounds going in every direction possible. Oh, and the sheer
power that some people have here… it’s astounding, inspiring, terrifying and
wonderful all at the same time.The worst part of living in NYC is the monetary
price of living in NYC. Everything is so expensive. Everything.
HCOU: What advice do you have for people trying to get their dream internship?
BH: No matter what internship you have in mind as your dream internship, it is
important to HAVE a dream internship in mind. What I mean by this is you
will never get where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re going, so
having a specific internship goal will be extremely helpful in achieving that
dream. This way, you can look at the application even when you know you
don’t fit the criteria and see exactly what it is that you need to do/improve on
in order to become the perfect candidate. You will be able to mold your
projects/classes/time to fit the criteria on the application, therefore making
yourself much more marketable to that company/publication than if you had
spent your time getting other experience that they might not necessarily
value. For example, for a previous internship at Zazoom Media Group,
months before I sent in my application, I was studying their videos and
learning their voice so that I could create some of my own content that was
similar to something they would produce, themselves. This way, I could send
in these clips with my application and they could see how well I would help
and hit in at their company.
Bianca Hillier was born in Perth, Australia. Bianca was raised with her three older
sisters in Dublin, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. She knew she wanted to make a
career out of TV production and journalism when she started anchoring her high
school’s morning announcement show in her Senior year. At Ohio University,
Bianca is also on the executive board of the Radio and Television Digital News
Association. She also works as a reporter, producer and anchor of WOUB’TV’s
nightly newscast. Outside of TV production and journalism, Bianca’s passions
include being involved in the Human Rights Campaign in the fight for sexual, racial
and gender equality. Her hobbies include cycling and baking, and she hopes to
become a certified spinning instructor in the near future.