One Thanksgiving break Ashley McCollum, a junior at PC, went to New York City to visit best friend and PC classmate, Janna Cone, who was there interning at Vera Wang. The day before Thanksgiving, McCollum and Cone made their way to the front of Rockefeller Center’s TODAY Plaza stage to see a concert. McCollum had more on her mind than seeing Natasha Bedingfield and Sean Kingston.

“Holding a sign that said, ‘This Southern Belle wants to be NBC’s Summer intern,’ I caught the eye of Jim Bell, NBC TODAY executive producer,” McCollum said.

Bell came down from his office and met McCollum, applauded her creative way of pursuing an internship, and asked for her e-mail address. The proactive McCollum came prepared, giving Bell her resume and cover letter.

“Two weeks later Mr. Bell contacted me and we have been corresponding since that day in November,” McCollum said.

Last week, McCollum had a phone interview for the position. The following morning, Bell offered McCollum a summer internship. She will move to New York City of June 1 and work through mid-August.

As an intern, McCollum will be responsible for escorting TODAY guests from check-in, to dressing rooms, hair and make-up, and to the stage on the TODAY Plaza if they are performing for the Summer Concert Series. Interns also have hands-on experience with dubbing and editing clips for final production, logging tapes of the daily show, working closely with producers, writers, and the anchors. Interns also get to sit in on brainstorming meetings and pitch ideas, which are often used for TODAY segments. Other various jobs range from booking guests, calling PR agents for guests to confirm details, and helping with different projects around NBC.

According to McCollum, as many as 500 have applied for the internship in the past. Twenty are granted interviews, and eight are offered the position.

McCollum is currently studying abroad in Greece, interning at the daily newspaper, Ta Nea. She’s majoring in economics and minoring in political science, history, and international studies and has worked in the college relations department at PC since her freshman year.

“The combination of experience in PR and special events with my academic background in public policy is what has really motivated me to pursue television production as a career,” McCollum said. “I want to be a producer and work my way up in the media world.”

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