I have to admit, I was extremely nervous to move to New York City.
As exciting and eventful as I know the city is, and as much as I knew before coming here what a great experience it would be, I was still shaking in my shoes last Thursday as I drove with my mom, dad, and eight weeks’ worth of necessities to the city that never sleeps.
As I moved into the NYU dorm that would soon become my home for the summer, I began to feel the eagerness and excitement take the place of the nerves that had been plaguing me in the days prior. Even within just the first couple of hours of coming to New York, I could already feel the sense of ambition and opportunity hanging in the air like something tangible. I could feel it, and I was ready for it.
I took the weekend to settle in and try to become accustomed to my new surroundings, or at least as accustomed as I could in a place where there is literally always something sensational happening. I explored parts of New York I had never been to with my suitemate and fellow PLA’er Liv, and I found new restaurants and new places to take my book and relax for a few hours. I navigated the subway system and I scoped out where I would have to be for work on Monday. I took advantage of all that I could in the days before starting my 40-hour work week.
After an exhilarating weekend, Monday rolled around and the nerves returned. This was my first internship, and my first time working long hours in an office. I really did not know what to expect, and question after question muddled my mind in the hours leading up to my entrance into Paramount Plaza, my office building (shown below).
Finally, I made it up to the fifteenth floor where the Showtime headquarters is located. I got my ID card and sat down in a room with about 20 other 20-somethings, and we all eagerly awaited the activities to come. Orientation involved the classic introductions – to the bosses, to each other, and to the company as a whole. We learned about the projects that we would be involved in in the coming weeks, and again I felt the sensation of excitement overriding the nerves.
The rest of the week brought with it a lot of new and eye-opening experiences. As a digital media production intern for the Smithsonian Channel sector of Showtime, I was right away given tasks that would be beneficial to the company and to my advisor. I reviewed Smithsonian Channel content and logged clips for specific promotional material. I came up with ideas related to specific series on the Channel that would appeal to a younger demographic. I even cut and edited my own mock promo video to help advertise an upcoming series called “Bug Bites.”
In addition to the work with Smithsonian Channel, Showtime has provided the 23 interns with a lot of supplementary work and excursions in order to get the most out of this summer as possible. This first week brought with it a focus group session with Showtime executives to discuss millennial television viewing habits, a lunch outing with the Smithsonian Channel president (who happens to be a Penn State grad!), an intern scavenger hunt that I went absolutely ham on and won with my group, and the introduction to a group project that would take place over the 8 weeks. I was assigned to the “Creative Challenge” project, which I’m extremely excited about because it involves coming up with creative ways to expose younger viewers to newer Showtime series like Shameless, SMILF, and The Chi.
Well, that was a lot more than I intended to say, but I guess it just goes to show that my first week in New York City was a whirlwind of nerves, excitement, and just about every other emotion in the book. I can’t wait to see where this summer takes me…its Showtime!
