Hey BU2016! I hope you are all enjoying your summer, getting pumped for orientation and the fall semester. It’s going to be here before you know it!
For those of you who don’t remember from my previous blog posts, my main struggle this past semester has been a desperate search for a valuable summer internship in California. I am happy to say that, thanks to the fantastic resources at COM, I have achieved my goal. Greetings from sunny Los Angeles, where I am currently working two part-time internships with Fox Studios and The Oscars!
Backtrack a bit to how I got these amazing opportunities and then I’ll tell you all about the wonderful summer I’ve had so far. There I was at COM Student Services on a seemingly ordinary day. I was talking to Katie, one of our fantastic advisors and my personal life-saver, venting about the difficulties and frustrations about my internship hunt. Upon hearing what I was looking for, she told me about a BU alum, currently working for Twentieth Century Fox, who was looking for an intern in her department. She sent her my resume and after a few phone interviews, I was offered the job! It all happened so fast and before I knew it, I was spending hours on Craigslist every night, all my energy now going into finding a place to live.
The days passed, finals came and went, and as I was packing up my dorm room, I received an email. It was from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, saying they had received my resume and whether I could come in for an interview. I was confused because I hadn’t applied to a position with them. However, it’s been a small dream of mine for years to somehow work for the Oscars, and I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity. I explained that I already had a part-time internship for the summer, and to my delight, they said they would be happy to work around my schedule. So again, after a few phone interviews, they offered me the job and I gladly accepted.
I found out later that my resume had been sent to them by none other than Dean Sabovik! I could not be more grateful to COM for all the help and the resources they provided to get me where I am right now. Which is sitting at a desk in the Communications department of the A.M.P.A.S. building in Beverly Hills, typing this blog post during my lunch break.
I have to say, I thought getting the job would be the hardest part of this whole process, but it turns out relocating to Los Angeles from South Florida as a poor college student was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. Thankfully, both positions are paid, and I was able to sublet an apartment near both my workplaces. I only started working a few weeks ago, and already I feel like I’ve been here forever. Hollywood is addicting and exciting and tough and everything I thought it would be. At Fox, I work in the publicity department for movies and at The Academy, I work as a public relations and marketing intern. Both jobs have taught me so much already about the industry and everyone I work with has been friendly and super helpful in answering all my questions.
And that’s not to mention all the awesome perks that come with both jobs! Fox does an awesome job with their internship program, setting up cool events and screenings for all of us to mingle. Though I’m the only intern in my department, I’ve been able to meet a ton of other students from all over. Just yesterday, I even met a girl from COM! My excitement knew no bounds as we bonded over BU. The other day, they gave us interns a special tour of the entire Fox Lot, which was awesome. I stood on the set of Modern Family and Bones and walked past the street where they film scenes from How I Met Your Mother (one of my favorite shows of all time). They also took us through all the production and sound studios, and I came away with a newfound appreciation and understanding of the incredible amount of behind-the-scenes work that goes into making a single film.
At The Academy, by far the coolest thing I’ve done this summer is work on the Student Academy Awards. Watching those films and getting to know all the winners made me wonder at the amount of potential we have as students. Thinking back to the amazing work I’ve seen from some of my friends and classmates the past year, I have no doubt in my mind that in the next few years, we’ll see a winner from BU COM being honored with a Student Oscar.
Also, I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay for a movie again. Through Fox, I have been able to attend screenings for all their movies, including Prometheus and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. With my Academy ID, I can attend free screenings at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Last week I saw Seeking A Friend for the End of the World and this weekend, I’m really excited to go check out Magic Mike and Beasts of the Southern Wild. They are also holding an ongoing event called Oscars Outdoors where they screen classic movies, like The Goonies and Ferris Bueller, at the Academy’s new open-air theater.
I honestly don’t know how I’m going to leave LA. I have not been bored from the second the plane landed, and I really believe it is impossible to run out of things to do here. My birthday is coming up in a few days (July 3rd!) and I’m already thinking what kind of adventure to take. Maybe head out to Santa Monica Pier or hike to the Hollywood sign? Road trip to see the Golden Gate Bridge or even to Vegas? Who knows! I am enjoying my time here immensely. I have learned so much and met some really great people. If you guys have any questions or recommendations on things I can do while I’m out here, feel free to shoot me an email (vasquezd@bu.edu) or hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, whatever!
Have a great rest of the summer guys! Can’t wait to meet all of you!
