In September of 1998, as I entered St. John's University as a freshman, all I could think about was interning for any company that would have me. I obviously did not know what career choice I would pick as I entered my freshman year as a Liberal Arts major in St. John's College. So her I am, four years later, with a very cool internship at MTV Networks which is preparing me for the world outside of St. John's University.
When it was time to start applying for internships in early December, I got the ball rolling by sending out my resumes with cover letters to three different places. I received calls from two of the three places, Regis and Kelly and MTV Networks. Now the challenge of promoting my abilities and expectations would begin as I began the interview process. I prepared for my interviews by reviewing some questions that I thought the interviewers would ask and really knowing what I was looking for. Most important was to just be myself.
My first interview was for Regis and Kelly. I met with Courtney Strong, the internship coordinator. She made me feel very comfortable during my interview. Her general questions were straightforward and quite easy. The questions she asked regarding hypothetical situations were a bit more diffcult. After our interview session was over, Courtney proceeded to tell me what my responsibilities would be if I were to get the position at Regis and Kelly. Three weeks later, Courtney informed me that I had the position if I wanted it. The position offered was in the Promotions Department. It wasn't really what I was looking for. Therefore, I decided to wait a little longer and see if I would get any additional responses to my resume submissions.
Ellen Czelada, from MTV Networks, called me for an interview about two weeks after my interview at Regis and Kelly. I went to the interview with the same attitude as before, to just be myself. As the interview began Ellen, asked me routine questions that any interviewer would ask, someone who was applying for a job.
After we had gone through the interview process, she looked at my resume, to familiarize herself with what I could do and what I have done in the past. The fact that I had written down on my resume that I was a producer for the SJU Student produced show, "Eye of the Storm," impressed her. She went through a hook, which was about 1,000 pages of all intern positions, and stated that she had the perfect place for me. It was VH1 studios, which was not located in the main building on Broadway. It was its own tiny studio on 33rd Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan. This specific studio only accepts one intern, and I was being given the opportunity to interview for that spot. Ellen first asked me if I minded being in a place where I would be the only intern. I did not mind at all. Ellen then sent me to the studio to interview with Amy Bergstein.
Amy Bergstein was awaiting my arrival at the studio. As I walked up the stairs, I felt myself get really nervous. I was asked about myself and what I was interested in, post graduation. The subject of the SJU TV Club, and the show was brought up again, and she seemed impressed that I knew quite a few things about production. After the interview she made another appointment with me to interview with her assistant Pete DeGrazio. It was under his supervision that I would be interning, so it was only right that he would have a say in the final decision, to either accept me as an intern, or not.
The second interview with VH1 Studios was even better than the first. I had the opportunity to interview with both Pete DeGrazio and Amy Bergstein. Pete asked me some questions about what I was interested in, and then took me on a tour of the studio. After the interview we went back into Amy's office, and discussed days and hours that I would be available. When everything was over, and I was ready to go, they told me that they would get back to me within a week. They had to interview one other student as well. I got the call that I was accepted one week later.
I decided to take on the VH1 internship offer, because it was more studio work and more of a Production Assistant position. Regis and Kelly's position was more for promotions. It was a public relations type of position. I called up Amy and told her I would love to take the position.
January 22, 2002, was the orientation day. During orientation the internship coordinator Ellen Czelada, explained to all of MTV's networks' new interns the rules and regulations of the company. Also during this time, we were able to meet other students who would be interning in any of the many positions available at the company. It was a good experience, because by the time orientation came, everyone knew what company they were going to be interning for, such as MTV, Nickelodeon, and VH1. We were all able to talk about ourselves. A good way to network with future professionals.
The first day of my internship was scary and nerve-racking. I guess it's the standard feeling one gets when beginning a new adventure. As I walked through the doors, officially for the first, all I kept thinking was "What if I don't fit in here?" "What if I don't understand what they are asking me to do, and I mess up?" Like any other day, this day finally ended.
Pete DeGrazio showed me around again, so that I could become more comfortable and familiar with my surroundings. We went to both main offices, so that he could introduce me to the people and the building floors that I would need to know, for my stay there. The first building, which is the headquarters of MTV Networks, was the MTV Building in Times Square. Then Pete took me to the other main office in the Paramount Building located at 1633 Broadway.
Upon our return to the VH1 studio, Pete took me around to meet the crew. They were very polite and friendly. Although I expected the crew to be nice to me, I did not expect that they would be as comfortable around me they were.
Pete DeGrazio told me about my new responsibilities. I was to help the Assistant Director, Beth Veraldi, with anything she needed. The other responsibilities I had to handle were getting the Green Room ready for any guests who would arrive and making sure that the Production office was fully stocked with supplies. Filing, photocopying, and errand running, were obviously some other chores of being an intern.
Beth Veraldi, the Assistant Director, was the person I spent the most time with and learned the most from at my internship. As Beth's assistant, I was logging tapes that were being taped in the studio. Another part of the job was keeping the segments times. Beth taught me how to use a teleprompting program, Avstar, which the television industry is currently using. Among the other tasks I had to perform for the Assistant Director were typing a database for all the still-store graphics, logging additional show tapes, and obviously making photocopies for the crew.
Amy Bergstein, the studio production manager, was another person that I spent a lot of my internship hours with. She had me make phone calls to various companies to check and see if the studio could receive certain things such as, lighting equipment, scenic equipment and engineering equipment. Through these tasks I can honestly say that I learned to speak on the phone more professionally. Amy also had me do some studio invoice copying and filing.
Pete DeGrazio, my supervisor, also had some tasks for me to fulfill at my internship. Under Pete's supervision I had to "route schedules," daily. What this means is that I had to hand out the schedule to crew members as well as posting it in several key locations. I also had to go to the two main offices to drop off documents as well as pick up others.
At VH1 I had the opportunity to work on many different productions. Producers came in to tape segments of "Newsflash," "Pro-Newsflash," "Top 20 Countdowns", puppy shows, interviews for specials, and the "Rock Show." Unfortunately the "Rock Show" was canceled one week after I began my internship.
A couple of weeks ago a new show came to the studio, "Fresh with Zeke." It was originally shot in someone's apartment but the producers decided to build a set and shoot the show in a studio. I had the chance to watch the stagehands build the set from scratch in one day. It was amazing to watch. They transformed a plain old room into the ultimate stage set.
As the weeks progressed the crew and I became friendlier. They picked on me, as they picked on each other, which made me feel like part of the crowd. The environment was homey. The crew is like one big happy family and I felt like they let me in to be their little sister. The classes at St. John's prepare you for a serious environment in television production. It was not like that at all at VH1. The crew was always playing jokes on each other, even during productions. On April 1st, April Fool's Day, the crew decided to change all of their positions. The cameraperson became the tape operator, the tape operator became the technical director, the technical director became the teleprompter operator, and the teleprompter operator became the cameraperson. The producer of the segment was a bit confused, but because the crew got the job done, the producer did not have any objections.
Another day at the studio, while shooting a special news flash, host Ameer Haleem and the technical crew decided to play a joke on the Director and Assistant Director. Ameer pretended to be on TTV, Turbulence TV During the middle of Ameer reading the teleprompter, everything going well, the cameraperson started rattling the camera, the audio engineer played plane crash noises, and the stage manager threw the host a gas mask made out of Tupperware. The host continued to pretend that there was turbulence on the set, and that anyone at home should not panic. It was a very funny prank played on the director. It was even funnier to see how many crewmembers were in on it and who added their special effects to the cause. In a place where you would expect everyone to be professional, it is nice to see that there are moment when harmless fun occurs.
Through my internship I was able to show off my St. John's education. I was able to understand and speak their lingo, as well as learn a few more television terms. Because of the classes I have taken and being a board member of the television club and a student staff worker for the Television Center, I was able to contribute to several conversations without looking foolish or ignorant. The crew seemed pretty impressed with my conversations about television production. They were impressed that St. John's allowed their students to work on equipment unsupervised. They had never had the experience to work with a student who knew the technical side of production and able to work the equipment.
My internship, like anything in life had both good qualities and bad qualities about it. The good things about it were that I learned a lot by watching all of the employees put productions together. I had the opportunity to see the action behind the scenes, and that was great. The bad things about the internship were that I did not get any hands on experience, with the exception of the Chyron. All of the equipment was only operated by the crew, no one else was allowed to utilize it. I think the other downfall was that because I had a lot of work to do for my other classes, it sometimes seemed like a waste of time to be there. It was great to watch and learn, but there is only so much you can learn by just watching.
There are a few reasons why an internship was important for me to complete. I wanted to experience the reality of working in television production. I also wanted to make connections with people, hoping that they could help me out with finding a job after graduation. Another reason for the internship was to get credit in school for it. A11 of my expectations with the internship were met and I am happy about that.
I knew that when I entered SJU I wanted to take an internship, either my junior or senior year. I decided to take it my senior year so that if my sponsors offered me a job I would be able to take it. Although I have not been offered anything through my internship, I take my experience, the skills I have learned and connections to the media, world with me. In time, I know that in the long run. My internship with MTV Networks will be a huge benefit.