UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jenna Scotti, a journalism major passionate about the entertainment industry, will represent the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications as its student marshal during the University’s summer commencement exercises Aug. 11 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Scotti, who also completed a minor in environmental inquiry, is spending her summer as a production intern with Glass Entertainment Group, located outside of Philadelphia. Through this internship, she is learning about all of the different aspects of production, rotating through the different departments in the company and trying her hand at different tasks including casting research, business affairs, production and postproduction.
A native of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Scotti originally came into Penn State knowing she wanted to study journalism, but she wasn’t sure if broadcast journalism was the track for her until she started taking the classes.
“I came to this realization that I wanted to have an impact on people’s lives in some way, and I thought that broadcast journalism encompasses all of that,” Scotti said. “Whether it’s radio or TV, you get to influence people’s lives day to day, and I liked the idea of that — being able to make a mark on someone’s day even if it’s something really small like hearing your favorite song on the radio.”
On campus, Scotti was involved with PSNtv as a cast member and CommRadio as a member of the newscast team. Throughout the fall and spring of her senior year, Scotti also worked with 98.7 The Freq as a radio DJ and host of her own alternative music radio show.
Scotti also studied abroad in Australia and New Zealand as part of her environmental inquiry minor. Additionally, she honed her leadership experience as an officer with Omega Phi Alpha national service sorority and as a student supervisor for Penn State Campus Recreation.
She said the most memorable part of her Penn State career was reporting for Centre County Report, as it was the most hands-on class she took as a student.
“It really is the coolest class you can possibly take as a journalism student,” Scotti said. “It’s an actual newsroom, so every week you have your own camera, you’re producing your own stories, you’re responsible for the shots, the editing, the interviews, everything — you’re putting the whole story together. You learn so much that you feel like a pro by the end of the class.”
After graduating, Scotti said she would love to have a job as a production assistant in either Philadelphia or New York. She loves working behind the scenes and doing the editing and production side of entertainment. She said her dream job would be to work for a big-name comedy show like "Saturday Night Live" as an editor or writer.
“I like entertainment television,” Scotti said. “I did Centre County Report, so I have the news experience, but I feel like my heart really lies in the entertainment industry and making people smile, so I’m going to try to focus on that aspect.”