Husker Internships: Kathryn's Entertainment Business Intern Experience

College of Business Author

11/26/2024 Added

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Kathryn Christensen, business administration and emerging media arts major from Omaha, Nebraska, talks with Assistant Dean Rachel Larson about her internship experiences at Fabel Entertainment in Los Angeles and Back Roads Entertainment in Austin, Texas, and how the College of Business at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln helped her get them. Christensen also talks about her career aspirations in the entertainment business and how the Husker network is helping her work in Hollywood.

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[00:00:00.510]Well, hello.
[00:00:01.343]My name is Rachel Larson,
[00:00:02.370]and I'm the assistant dean
[00:00:03.510]of academic and career development
[00:00:05.160]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business.
[00:00:08.130]Part of my role, I get to work with students
[00:00:10.320]and hear their stories about their career paths.
[00:00:12.930]So today, I'm joined by Kathryn Christensen,
[00:00:15.990]who's one of our wonderful students
[00:00:17.550]who has several great internship stories.
[00:00:20.250]So welcome, Kathryn.
[00:00:21.300]Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
[00:00:22.620]Excellent.
[00:00:23.460]So tell us a little bit about you.
[00:00:25.020]Where are you from? What's your major?
[00:00:26.310]Yeah, of course.
[00:00:27.143]So I'm from Omaha, Nebraska,
[00:00:28.890]and I'm a double major in Emerging Media Arts
[00:00:31.170]and Business Administration.
[00:00:32.520]Excellent.
[00:00:33.450]So I know you've had a couple great internship experiences,
[00:00:36.840]and so tell us a little bit about those.
[00:00:39.450]Yeah, well, my most recent internship this summer
[00:00:42.060]was with Fabel Entertainment,
[00:00:43.800]which is a television development company in Los Angeles.
[00:00:46.650]And so they're responsible for producing shows like "Bosch",
[00:00:50.130]which is a long-running series on Amazon Prime,
[00:00:53.100]and more recently, "Brilliant Minds" on NBC.
[00:00:57.180]And so while I was working for them,
[00:00:59.070]I was writing script coverage,
[00:01:00.390]which is basically analyzing
[00:01:02.700]incoming television pilot submissions
[00:01:04.590]from screenwriters and showrunners
[00:01:06.330]to see whether they're a good fit for our company's culture
[00:01:09.150]and also a good fit for the mandates
[00:01:11.250]that the buyers are looking for at that time.
[00:01:13.410]Along with that, I was also maintaining tracking grids,
[00:01:17.280]so basically keeping track of staff writers
[00:01:20.820]to staff on writers' rooms for shows in pre-production.
[00:01:25.020]I also pitched a couple of my own show ideas
[00:01:27.450]based off of intellectual property,
[00:01:29.040]like books, podcasts, news articles,
[00:01:33.060]and then I attended some industry workshops
[00:01:35.670]and networking events that were set by my company.
[00:01:37.650]That's great. Yeah.
[00:01:38.730]And I know prior to your production internship in LA,
[00:01:42.240]you had an internship in Dallas as well, right?
[00:01:44.490]I did, yes.
[00:01:45.330]And that was in unscripted television,
[00:01:47.250]so reality television.
[00:01:48.690]And so I was working under the company of a producer
[00:01:52.620]who was responsible for "Pawn Stars."
[00:01:54.090]So for them, I'd be doing a lot of research on show ideas,
[00:01:58.200]basically coming up with projects for talent
[00:02:00.390]that we were in contact with through their agents.
[00:02:02.640]And so it was very different experience
[00:02:04.260]than scripted television.
[00:02:05.160]I wasn't reading television pilots,
[00:02:06.990]but it was still a very useful experience
[00:02:09.060]to get to know the industry.
[00:02:10.290]Great.
[00:02:11.220]So how did you find these internships?
[00:02:13.680]'Cause those are pretty unique.
[00:02:14.760]Yeah, well, so the entertainment industry,
[00:02:17.610]they look for specific skills and majors in students,
[00:02:21.780]and so they kind of,
[00:02:23.190]it has its own like specific job posting site
[00:02:25.740]called EntertainmentCareers.Com.
[00:02:29.530]And I did not know about it until sophomore year,
[00:02:31.950]but it's a site that usually a lot of the companies
[00:02:36.660]other than the major, maybe, streamers or studios
[00:02:40.260]will post on and...
[00:02:42.570]So it's kind of a better-kept secret than like LinkedIn
[00:02:45.600]and which is kind of why,
[00:02:46.500]I guess, I didn't know about it for a while.
[00:02:48.030]But I actually got both of those internships off
[00:02:50.700]of EntertainmentCareers,
[00:02:51.720]so that's where I pretty much exclusively go
[00:02:53.910]to find internships.
[00:02:55.320]So how has the Business Career Center
[00:02:58.260]and the College of Business,
[00:02:59.250]and I know you're also
[00:03:00.083]an Emerging Media Arts major- Yes.
[00:03:01.440]so how has the University of Nebraska helped you
[00:03:04.290]with your internships?
[00:03:05.520]Yes, well, so there's two sides
[00:03:07.410]in the entertainment business.
[00:03:08.520]I feel like half of the time you're dealing with the art,
[00:03:11.040]you're reading scripts,
[00:03:12.150]you're kind of analyzing and doing notes,
[00:03:14.490]and that's where the emerging media arts side comes into it,
[00:03:17.280]is kind of that understanding of the art in that way.
[00:03:21.660]But then the other half of it, you're dealing with business.
[00:03:24.540]So, like, when a screenwriter is pitching their idea
[00:03:28.680]to a producer or to a buyer,
[00:03:32.070]I mean, you're falling back on those basic skills of sales.
[00:03:34.980]Or, you know, if you're working on a production for a show,
[00:03:40.530]you're not only dealing with the crew and the cast,
[00:03:43.080]but you're also dealing with,
[00:03:44.190]you know, maybe labor union lawyers
[00:03:46.860]or budget and accountants.
[00:03:48.960]So, I mean, the entertainment industry,
[00:03:50.730]like every other industry, it's a business.
[00:03:52.710]It deals with art, but it is a business.
[00:03:54.270]And so having both of those together,
[00:03:56.010]I feel like has really lessened the learning curve
[00:03:59.610]of kind of understanding both sides of the business
[00:04:02.610]before I actually graduate and get my first job
[00:04:06.120]in that professional space.
[00:04:07.740]Yeah. Yeah.
[00:04:08.880]Well, I know that the College of Business
[00:04:10.710]has what's called the Professional Enhancement Program,
[00:04:13.140]and so it's PrEP for short.
[00:04:15.450]So this is a series of four required classes
[00:04:18.450]that all of our students take
[00:04:19.800]in order to help them learn more about themselves,
[00:04:22.350]how to find internships and jobs,
[00:04:24.330]all of those application materials, et cetera.
[00:04:26.910]So how have the Professional Enhancement Program courses
[00:04:30.030]helped you in your internship search?
[00:04:32.340]Yeah, of course.
[00:04:33.173]So they've been honestly fantastic
[00:04:35.940]because over the course of college,
[00:04:37.980]I feel like it gives you a step-by-step guide
[00:04:40.380]to how to stand out as an applicant,
[00:04:42.840]not only, you know, in this competitive market
[00:04:45.510]for internships but also for jobs,
[00:04:47.250]and I feel like it's more competitive than ever.
[00:04:49.710]But I think that the most valuable course for me
[00:04:53.190]has been the BSAD 333 class,
[00:04:57.030]the Internship and Job Search Strategies class,
[00:05:00.120]because it gives you that step-by-step guide
[00:05:04.362]to revising and tailoring your resume and your cover letter
[00:05:08.190]for each specific position that you apply for.
[00:05:10.740]You get that personalized feedback
[00:05:12.240]from your course professor.
[00:05:13.710]You get experience using the Big Interview,
[00:05:16.590]which is really helpful
[00:05:18.300]in being able to let you practice interviewing skills
[00:05:20.850]over and over with a video.
[00:05:22.200]And then it also requires you to do a mock interview
[00:05:24.450]with, you know, with an actual business professional.
[00:05:27.690]And so you get that immediate feedback,
[00:05:29.580]and that's been really helpful to me
[00:05:32.100]because it's helped me recognize my weaknesses
[00:05:34.980]in interviewing and also my application materials,
[00:05:38.970]and I'm able to kind of improve upon those
[00:05:41.670]before I get out into the real world
[00:05:43.350]and before I'm finding jobs.
[00:05:44.520]And so I feel like even now when I'm applying for jobs,
[00:05:47.250]like I am for the spring semester and for post-grad,
[00:05:50.370]I'm still kind of returning back to that course on Canvas,
[00:05:52.980]and I'm rereading, you know, that, I guess,
[00:05:57.000]the examples that they give you
[00:05:58.380]and helping to use that going forward.
[00:06:01.530]So, yeah, that's been really helpful.
[00:06:03.660]Well, and I know in BSAD 222, they teach networking.
[00:06:07.470]And in LA, we have a really great alumni connection
[00:06:11.490]called the Nebraska Coast Connection
[00:06:13.140]in the entertainment industry.
[00:06:14.640]So talk to us a little bit about networking with that group
[00:06:17.400]and other Huskers in LA.
[00:06:19.260]Yeah, so that organization is fantastic,
[00:06:22.230]and it's been really helpful
[00:06:24.570]for the Emerging Media Arts program
[00:06:26.190]to get us into communication.
[00:06:28.890]I know a lot of alumni
[00:06:30.750]who have graduated from the Emerging Media Arts program
[00:06:33.390]have gone on to work with people
[00:06:35.280]who they've met through the alumni system.
[00:06:37.290]And so when you're relocating to an entertainment hub
[00:06:39.960]like Los Angeles,
[00:06:41.010]you know, you can't really,
[00:06:43.110]if you wanna work in Hollywood,
[00:06:44.280]you can't necessarily always stay in Nebraska
[00:06:46.830]to find those jobs.
[00:06:48.000]And so having that community out there,
[00:06:49.860]I feel like networking
[00:06:51.840]with people that I've met through that over the summer
[00:06:54.990]has really led me to meeting more people
[00:06:58.770]that they've introduced me to,
[00:07:00.540]which I think has led to potentially some job prospects
[00:07:07.230]in the future and also potential mentorship.
[00:07:09.570]So I think that that's been super helpful.
[00:07:11.700]Great. Yeah.
[00:07:12.540]So what's something that you are most proud of
[00:07:15.210]that you've accomplished in your internships
[00:07:16.980]and how did your coursework
[00:07:18.780]or your extracurricular activities here at Nebraska
[00:07:21.930]help you with that? Right.
[00:07:23.460]Well, I think that,
[00:07:25.290]well, I kind of wanna return to networking again
[00:07:27.180]because I think that
[00:07:28.620]that was probably my most valuable takeaway from the summer.
[00:07:32.400]You know, the entertainment industry
[00:07:34.020]really does run on connections
[00:07:35.910]and so, you know, sometimes it's frightening for me
[00:07:39.630]as I feel like it is for a lot of people
[00:07:41.070]to take that first step
[00:07:42.780]in cold messaging someone on LinkedIn or over email
[00:07:46.830]and asking them to take time out their day
[00:07:49.560]to give you career advice
[00:07:51.450]or to give you information about the entertainment industry
[00:07:54.330]that you might not be privy to,
[00:07:56.160]and at least for me.
[00:07:58.470]And so I feel like
[00:08:01.140]once I was able to kind of take that plunge
[00:08:03.120]and also attend some networking events
[00:08:05.340]that my company set up,
[00:08:07.380]also meeting people through Nebraska Coast Connection,
[00:08:10.200]I think it really led to some genuine connections
[00:08:12.300]that I hope to keep up in the future
[00:08:14.400]and that make me feel more confident
[00:08:16.410]about making that move to Los Angeles
[00:08:18.060]like I hope to do after I graduate.
[00:08:20.040]Great. Yeah.
[00:08:20.910]Well, and what did you learn in your internships
[00:08:23.640]that you are hoping to take forth in your future career?
[00:08:27.150]Definitely.
[00:08:27.983]So I think that first, the most important thing
[00:08:32.490]that I think I improved upon as a skill
[00:08:34.830]was prioritization and time management.
[00:08:38.700]The industry and also my job and my workplace
[00:08:41.880]was very fast-paced,
[00:08:43.260]and I feel like I constantly had more than one task
[00:08:46.560]that I had to, you know, manage.
[00:08:49.170]And so, through the guidance of my supervisor
[00:08:52.560]and also just my experience working there,
[00:08:54.750]I think that I got better at being able to navigate
[00:08:57.810]multiple projects at the same time,
[00:08:59.880]make sure that I'm not losing focus
[00:09:02.010]or losing track of deadlines
[00:09:04.080]and also managing the stress that comes along with that.
[00:09:06.690]So I think that that's something
[00:09:07.800]that I'm definitely gonna be able to carry forward with me.
[00:09:10.140]And I think, secondly,
[00:09:12.900]and I don't know whether this really counts as a skill,
[00:09:15.060]but just the knowledge that I picked up
[00:09:17.040]about the entertainment industry
[00:09:18.300]made the whole experience invaluable.
[00:09:20.280]I really did not know what I didn't know
[00:09:22.170]until I got out there.
[00:09:24.030]You know, there's a lot of language
[00:09:26.460]that is not commonly used that I was able to pick up on
[00:09:29.970]just being in that space
[00:09:31.980]and seeing those day-to-day business interactions.
[00:09:37.230]You know, I was able to learn who important figures were,
[00:09:40.710]learn how to kind of interpret the news I was seeing
[00:09:44.160]on, you know, entertainment websites.
[00:09:47.040]And so I think that knowing everything
[00:09:51.060]that I learned being in that space
[00:09:52.980]is gonna really lessen that learning curve
[00:09:55.560]and hopefully provide a benefit to my future employer
[00:09:58.620]that I've already had experience,
[00:10:00.240]so I know how the industry sort of works
[00:10:02.460]from being in that space before I graduated, so.
[00:10:05.170]Yeah. Yeah.
[00:10:06.120]Well, thank you so much for sharing your story.
[00:10:08.250]I have loved hearing about your internships,
[00:10:10.260]and I know you're just gonna go take
[00:10:11.520]the entertainment industry by storm after you graduate.
[00:10:13.770]Thank you so much.
[00:10:14.700]Excellent. Thank you.
[00:10:16.062](bright music)

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Husker Internships: Kathryn's Entertainment Business Intern Experience

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