Gaining hands-on production experience on set in Los Angeles

Area of Emphasis: Production & Entertainment

Emily worked as a story assistant on the 21^st Season of ABC’s hit show, Dancing with the Stars. Consistently ranked in the top 10 network television series by Nielsen, DWTS follows pairs of professional dancers and celebrities as they practice, perform and compete in a ballroom-dance competition.

Emily’s primary responsibilities included attending daily rehearsals with the dancers and their celebrity partners. She provided aid to field producers with camera setup, documented the story being recorded between the couple, and logged the footage to tape for the reality show’s editors and story producers.

She credits the many production-related courses she’s taken in the Communication Studies Department for preparing her to showcase her knowledge of TV production during both the interview process and on set.

“The work was at times challenging, … but it was an opportunity that I will never forget. One particularly memorable moment was when they closed down Hollywood Boulevard to shoot their opening number for the season premier. It was the first time the show had ever done something like that and I was able to be a part of it.”

Learn more about Emily’s career on LinkedIn.