 "Photo:")
 "Photo: Rene Wicha")
Students focusing on a career in the television and entertainment industry have an opportunity to apply for a summer internship with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation.
The eight-week summer internship offers a chance to work in real world television and entertainment situations - and get paid for doing it, Price Hicks, the foundation's director of educational programs and services, told about 60 students Oct. 7 in Longwith Radio, Television and Film Building.
Also in attendance were radio-television-film Professors Fred Weiss and John Onderdonk.
Hicks spoke to students at Trinity and Southern Methodist universities before the presentation at this college.
She said students who were selected for one of the 35 internships would be paid $4,000 for eight weeks.
Students would intern for UPN, Fox TV Studios, Digital Film Network and such TV shows as "The Young and the Restless" and "The O.C."
The program began in the late 1970s and has been led by Hicks since 1985. No students from this college have gone through the program, Weiss said.
The selection process begins with students sending application packets including a cover sheet, resume, college transcripts, three to four letters of recommendation and a written essay about themselves.
Applications are accepted from Jan. 1 to March 15 each year.
In the last few years, the foundation has received 800 to 900 applications per year.
Finalists, who are notified by phone, must be prepared to submit a video statement telling academy judges about themselves.
In some intern categories, such as writing, a sample of the student's work is also necessary.
Once finalists are accepted, they must make living arrangements in the Los Angeles area and begin their internship within a few weeks.
Hicks said finding a place to live, learning the way around the city and struggling with traffic are all factors that may influence the student's decision to live in Los Angeles and work in the entertainment business.
At the end of the internship, the student must conduct an exit interview with Hicks.
"The interview, which is confidential, is the only way to monitor the program effectively," she said.
Hicks stressed internships help young people break into the profession.
"Internships are a necessity," she said. "They tell your employer that you have moved out of the academic box and into the real world."
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation's internship program has been voted one of the 10 best for 10 years, Hicks said.
Internship information is available at www.emmys.tv/foundation/internships.php.
Be the first to comment on this article!