For this week’s post I decided to interview Hannah Kerby, an econ major here at Penn State who ended up working for the entertainment company Lionsgate this past semester in a co-op. It was an internship that took her all the way to the Cannes Film Festival in Paris.
How did you find out about their programs, and how was the application process?
I heard from my friend in a different school about a program that allowed college students to help out in the Cannes Film Festival, and so I applied and got accepted. Once we were at the festival, we got contracted out to companies, and I got hired by Lionsgate. That was for about a month, and by that point they had offered me a three-month spring co-op to gain even more experience.
Did the job have to do with your major directly?
No, not at all. I was so happy that I got it because econ majors are usually more finance, Wall Street types and that wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. So it was awesome that just the overall education here prepares us so well that they felt I was qualified enough to continue working for them, even though they knew I wasn’t an artsy major.
What did your duties entail?
At Lionsgate I was split between international creative development and promotions. So half of my week was spent brainstorming different parties and ways to promote the films internationally, and then the other half of my time was spent discussing how to pick which films to produce on an international level. For example, Hunger Games: like how do we make it more appealing to Spain, Mexico, etc.? It was really interesting.
How do you feel Penn State helped the most?
Honestly, it’s because Penn State is so big that everybody you talk to is in a different college or major, which gets you thinking about what you’re doing. All of my friends started talking about how much they loved their classes and were so excited to be doing what they wanted. That made me realize I had to look into more majors and opportunities to find the career path I enjoyed the most. That is exactly what ended up happening. Thanks to Penn State, now I know exactly what I want to do and what I am passionate about, and when I graduate I will know what kind of jobs to aim for.
What were your favorite parts of this internship?
I got to meet so many celebrities I admired and realized they are just as normal as we are. Not only did I meet the entire cast of Insurgent and The Hunger Games, but also Elizabeth Banks, Kelsey Grammar, and Kellen Lutz. Ansel Eglort, Jennifer Lawrence, and Josh Hutcherson were all so friendly and outgoing. But, I’d say the sweetest by far was Shailene Woodley, we had a long talk and it was crazy to see that she has the same problems any other person our age would.
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