Interning at NBC was something one Penn State student always wanted to do. This summer, she was lucky enough to get that opportunity. With a little help from her cousin, who works for NBC, she got an interview with Peacock Productions, part of NBCUniversal, and eventually got the gig.
But, junior Courtney Testa knew the key to making the internship worth it came down to making connections and working hard while in New York City.
“The most important thing is to build genuine relationships with the people you work closely with,” said Testa. “The key is to have a positive attitude, take initiative, and put 100 percent into all assignments you are given, whether they are big or small.”
The Rockaway, New Jersey, native spent the summer in a development position with Peacock Productions, which produces and develops reality and unscripted shows or specials for various broadcast or cable channels, including NBC, MSNBC, The Weather Channel, Discovery Channel, History Channel and USA.
In her position, she helped with research for projects that the company was working on, helping out developers with whatever they may need, including a project about what cable channels are looking for in the coming years. She also researched facts for an upcoming special for the History Channel. In addition, Testa was sometimes tasked with looking up talent for shows, such as people who could be interviewed or on a show.
With all of the projects and duties, Testa learned to stay on task.
“This internship taught me how to stay focused and manage my time properly. I also learned how to think outside of the box when researching topics to provide the developers with the best results,” said Testa.
Her favorite project in the internship was helping to put together a sizzle reel. With a script of ideas from her developer, Testa found funny YouTube videos to be compiled into the reel.
“The developer put all of the clips I found into his reel and recorded an accompanying voiceover. It sounded great all together!” said Testa. “He then pitched this reel to many networks. That was probably my favorite project because it was a lot of fun and I got to see all of the clips I found together in an official reel.”
Testa is heavily involved with PSNtv, Penn State’s student-run television network, producing two shows for the station, including a dating show called “PSU Matchmaker” and a sketch comedy called “The Valley.” Originally, she thought she would want to be more on the production side of the business upon graduation, but her current internship has led her to appreciate the development side.
“I really like where I work right now and I could see myself being a developer working in this exact office for Peacock that I’m in right now,” said Testa. “I could definitely see myself being a developer or producer for reality and unscripted television.”