The following was written by UGA Equestrian student-athlete, Julia Spreng. Julia is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication.
I have always dreamed of interning with NBCUniversal and so just like 50,000 other people, I applied for their summer internship program. After a few rounds of interviews, I was informed that I was accepted into the Ad Sales Scholar Program as a Strategy and operations intern. Soon I was in New York City, sitting in a seat next to 500 other dedicated and excited interns at the SVA Theater in at the East Coast NBCUniversal Internship Orientation, ready to start the 10 week program. In this moment, I was once again reminded how lucky I was to be surrounded by encouraging and supportive family, friends, mentors, and the UGA Athletic Association, who all helped guide me throughout my career path.
After orientation, I rode the subway (for the first time) to the NBCUniversal Headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza. I was greeted by the Ad Sales team and met the other two interns who were selected to participate in the Ad Sales Scholar Program. Unlike many internship programs, I was quickly immersed into projects and did weekly upfront pacing reporting for my manager. In addition to ongoing projects and tasks, I began working on a group presentation with my Ad Scholar colleagues. My group was asked to evaluate emerging media landscapes in the industry and identify whitespace opportunities for NBCUniversal. After 7 weeks of collecting first party data and research, all of the Ad Sales intern groups presented to HR. My group and I had the opportunity to not only present to HR, but to also present to the Senior Vice President of the Ad Sales Strategy Department. My manger and the Ad Sales team were extremely helpful and patient during my internship and I can confidently say I learned so much about the industry in 10 weeks.
I am very thankful for the opportunity that UGAAA has given me over the years as I have learned what it truly means to represent something bigger than yourself and how to be successful in a team environment. Much like being a student-athlete, being an intern at NBCUniversal was a privilege and not a right. Having that in mind, I was prepared to bring forth my best ideas and attitude to the table every day. I am forever grateful to have spent my summer learning from such an amazing and innovative team at NBCUniversal! #ProudAsAPeacock
