My time in L.A with the “Hofstra in L.A” program was one of my favorite experiences at Hofstra. The fact that I got to go on this trip to learn more about communications in the entertainment industry made it special, as I one day hope to work in public relations for television or film.
One of my biggest takeaways from the trip was that there are so many jobs in the entertainment industry that I didn’t even know existed! For example, I didn’t know that creative development was a job that includes creating show ideas to sell to networks and studios. Also, a lot of these jobs I didn’t know existed I learned about from alumnae that we met with. It was really inspiring to hear all the alum talk about their journeys in their careers. It definitely made me feel a lot better about being closer to graduation, and still not being sure about what I am doing afterwards. We were also lucky that so many of our alumnae work at cool places that we got to visit! Some of these places included NBCUniversal, ABC-TV and ICM.
One of my favorite meetings was with Jill Gershman at ABC-TV in the Entertainment Marketing department. We got to go behind the scenes where all the marketing decisions take place, and her team walked us through how they market certain television shows such as “The Bachelor” and “The Good Doctor.” Another one of my favorite meetings was at PMK•BNC, which is a public relations agency that has two branches: publicity and brand public relations. It was really cool to hear from publicists and have them walk us through their day, and tell us the best and worst parts of their job. I was especially interested in hearing them speak because I am also interested in a career in publicity.
Another great thing about the trip was that we had down time to really explore L.A. My favorite thing I did was going on the Warner Bros. Studio tour. It was so cool to look at what goes into the making of some popular television and movie shows. I got to see where some famous television and move moments were filmed. I also got to see the Central Perk set, which I got really excited about because I am a huge “Friends” fan. I also got to get sorted by the sorting hat used in the “Harry Potter” films (I am also a huge fan of “Harry Potter”), and in case you were wondering, I am a Hufflepuff!
I am so thankful for this trip. I made new friends, new connections, and I felt hopeful about my future as a young professional going in to the workforce. What the “Hofstra in L.A Trip” meant to me was a chance to see what my future can look like, and getting excited about starting my career!