Rachel Castellano, '18

I will be supporting all activities involved in selling and servicing both linear and digital for Disney Kids Networks, Freeform, and ABC. One of my friends from SJU had a family connection over at ABC in New York. I reached out and got connected, which then resulted in my resume being passed around. Shortly thereafter I got called in to interview for an open position that they felt matched my qualifications and experience on my resume.

I helped to produce news, programming and special events promotions. I also was involved in executing the graphic look and maintaining the station’s growing website and social media platforms. In addition, I created station advertising in other media including print, radio, outdoor and interactive while working promotional events within the ABC company.  My internship was really self-directed and required self-motivation. I was not handed any specific projects since it was the creative department. My job was to come into the office and come up with creative ideas for social media posts that they could use.

I actually interned for ABC for the past year. I started in the Marketing Department back in May 2017. The way I got into this company/internship was because the VP Director of Sales came in to talk to my Integrated Marketing Communications class. He explained what ABC was and described what each department was like. At the end of his presentation, I decided to go up to him and express my interest in working for ABC. We exchanged contact info and he offered to give me a tour of the station. From there, he gave my resume to the marketing department and that is how I landed my internship!

I worked with a lot of online programs such as Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, PowerPoint, Word, Excel. I also strengthened my communication and verbal skills.

My communication studies and marketing classes are what made me fall in love with this career path. I was exposed to editing software, social media platforms, and marketing strategies. I was able to bring the knowledge I learned in the classroom to a hands-on internship experience, which helped me narrow down my career goals.

My biggest piece of advice is to always put yourself out there and network. If I never built up the courage to go up to the VP Director of Sales at the end of his presentation in my class, I would have never have landed my internship role, which prepared me for my current job.