Virtual Internships are the New Normal

Last summer I spent my days waking up at 6 a.m. to run downhill for 20 minutes in order to catch the bus to work. After a 40-minute bus ride I walked 10 minutes to the office to be the first intern to make the coffee, clean the kitchen, and start greeting all the employees on their way in. My days consisted of answering phones, greeting guests, researching projects, learning what each department does by talking with the staff and running errands all over town. Around 6 p.m. I would leave the office to run to catch the bus and get home by 8 p.m. On the two days I had off and weekends I ran all over Los Angeles grabbing coffee with GW Alumni and other people I met on LinkedIn who worked in entertainment to have informational interviews and develop a relationship. I was staying on a college campus for the entirety of my three-month unpaid internship. My internship was in my dream industry: entertainment. Each day felt like a dream to me and I wanted to contribute in any way that I could while also learning how the industry works and forming relationships with industry innovators. I finished my internship with a portfolio, long-lasting relationships, and a hunger to continue my professional development growth.

Fast-forward to March 2020 after spending months working on applications and scheduling interviews for summer internships. Two months prior I had visited UTA for a recruitment event and hadn't stopped thinking about it since. I discovered that I wanted to work in an agency and learn the pathway to be an agent. I had an idea of how exactly I wanted to spend my summer and felt newfound confidence with all the experience I had gained in a year. As the pandemic hit summer internships started to get canceled and I began to panic and grow anxious. This was the summer going into my senior year of college and to me it was the stepping stone into my post-graduate career. I worried that I would be behind other people my age in terms of experience. I stayed patient as I wanted for my dream internship to release any updates on their program. During this time of uncertainty, I made it a priority to reach out to people on LinkedIn with positions I was curious about or at companies I admired. On top of that, I decided to use the resources around me to grow skills in areas I didn't have time for like podcasting, editing, and graphic decision. As I waited for updates I took it upon myself to stay engaged and innovative to work towards my goals. I began to read more articles, watch archived interviews, listen to new artists, write articles, and start new series to learn what I liked and what I didn't. My passion for storytelling and innovation kept me on track.

I was beginning to feel content with everything I was creating at home and putting out for audiences to consume and interact with. I was searching for other opportunities but my mind kept going back to UTA. I knew it was the best place for me to figure out what I want to do within entertainment and I was going to grow the most. Towards the beginning of June, I got the acceptance into a virtual externship for the company I had set my sights on since October 2019. I finally felt a win and like someone saw my potential. I was so excited to be apart of this virtual experience. Obviously there is such a difference between an in-person program and virtual so I didn't know what to expect. In total there were 55 externs out of 5,000 applicants and we were all in a Zoom together.

I am so grateful to the Learning and Development team for creating a program where we can learn from the various speakers and ask questions that have always been on our minds. There was so much I wanted to learn about talent agencies and how the entertainment industry works. After listening to a presentation on branding I took the information to see how I could redesign the logo of my university's radion station podcast team. I used the examples of rebranding and finding a voice taught to take on this initiative. To better client skills I made it a priority to help a close friend of mine find opportunities in food photography by listening to her goals and setting up an action plan for her in order to find growth opportunities for her. After listening to a presentation on innovation I started to make a plan for creating my own podcast network to help bring more stories and voices to the marketplace. Each day I make it a goal to improve on the skills talked about daily to grow myself as a person and find new opportunities. In addition, I had the opportunity for mentorships with employees in podcasting, innovations, and other departments I was interested in to build relationships and ask questions on their experiences. Each conversation I have and the speaker I listen to excites and motivates me to work harder.

Weirdly I felt even more connected to the other externs as we bonded through Zoom happy hours and GroupMe chats. We discussed social issues, or favorite shows and movies, and our career aspirations. It is such an inspiring group to be apart of and even though we aren't in an office it has made the experience so much more special. It is so cool to see us all come together to collaborate, listen to one another, and offer support. I love listening to the questions they ask because they are things that I didn't think to ask and it only helps me grow my knowledge. I can see these relationships lasting a long time as we all venture into the entertainment industry. Being in a Zoom with 55 other people listening to one another has been a great way to practice collaboration and support. It feels so much easier to connect with others and reach out to set up Zoom calls or establish long-lasting relationships.

As virtual internships went through their test-run this summer it appears that more companies have decided to go that route for the summer. I personally love this turn because it offers more accessibility for people to gain experience in industries that may not be near them or they can't afford to do an unpaid internship. Virtual internships are flexible and allow people to explore other interests at the same time giving them a diverse portfolio of experience. This model is apart of the rapid innovation and change in these unprecedented times. The ability of companies to set these up to show their commitment to not only their employees but preparing future generations for the workforce. I am curious to see what comes next.