Summer Internship: A Day in the Life of Isabel Castro
Business Management Major with a Minor in Marketing
Isabel Castro, Management Major.
Hi everyone! My name is Isabel Castro and I am a senior at San Diego State University graduating in May 2022. Growing up, I was very enthralled by media and pop culture, constantly immersing myself into television shows and films. From a young age, I have always wanted to learn more about the Entertainment Industry on the business side. This spark of interest led me to becoming a Digital Media Intern at The CW Network this summer. I work under SDSU alumni Amy Shelby, who currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing for The CW Network.
During my summer internship, I am constantly learning new things every day and getting vast exposure to the industry and to the people who work in it. I truly feel that I am gaining very meaningful experiences that I will carry on with me for the rest of my career.
I am usually doing something different each day, but here is what a typical day as a Digital Media Intern at The CW Network looks like:
8:00 am - My alarm goes off. After hitting snooze once or twice, I get up and start my morning routine. On some mornings, I wake up at 6:50am to take a 7:20am Orangetheory Fitness class, where I also work part-time. After the workout, I go home, shower, and finish my morning routine.
9:00 am - I log onto my work laptop and check my calendar to see what meetings I have scheduled for that day. Then, I check my email and Slack to see if anyone from the Digital Department has tasks I can assist with.
10:00 am - I have a one-on-one meeting with an employee from the Digital Department. I then have multiple meetings a week with different people from that department to learn more about what they do for their jobs and how it all connects to the digital space. This specific person is the VP of Product and he explained how he oversees The CW app and website.
12:00 pm - I have another meeting with my supervisor, who is onboarding me for a new project to complete. I have to pull clips from an upcoming TV episode and post it on social media. My supervisor showed me the logistics into pulling the clips and utilizing the tools that are used to create the posts.
12:30 pm - I have an intern department meeting with Branded Entertainment. Every so often, all the interns gather on Microsoft Teams to meet with the heads of various departments where they explain what they do for The CW Network. It is definitely rewarding to learn how all the departments are able to work together and alongside each other as a whole.
2:00 pm - Around this time, I usually Quality Check (QC) episodes for various TV shows. This means I review upcoming episodes to make sure the ads and video quality are running smoothly for when they get released on The CW website. I also QC episodes when I have free time throughout the day.
4:00 pm - For the rest of my day, I begin working on the new task my supervisor assigned me earlier that afternoon. I familiarize myself with the tools he showed me and begin to create a draft for upcoming social media posts. My supervisor and I will meet the next day so he can approve it. I work on this until I log off my laptop at 6pm and I then reflect on the day I had.
A huge takeaway I’ve received from this internship experience is that networking can always help you advance, whether it be a project or your career. For years, I struggled with getting opportunities in the Entertainment Industry because I fell into the online black hole of being one out of hundreds of applicants that wanted the same thing as me. Once I realized that applying to various internships online was not working for me, I knew I needed to try something different. I stepped out of my comfort zone and began networking. I started by joining the Aztec Mentorship Program during the Fall semester of my junior year, where I connected with my first mentor Kristina Evans, founder and nutrition coach at Annyssa Wellness. When I told her I was interested in Entertainment, she connected me with my current mentor Becky Harshberger, who works in the industry at Entertainment Partners and serves as the Chair for the Fowler College of Business Dean's Board of Advisors.
Becky has guided me and taught me so much about the Entertainment Industry and she continues to do so today. She was the one who referred me to Amy Shelby with The CW and told me to message her on LinkedIn. I was initially nervous because I was unsure of what would happen, but I took a leap of faith and reached out to her. We ended up meeting on Zoom and her team eventually interviewed me for the Digital Media Internship and I got the position!
I was amazed at how all of my hard work had paid off. Looking back, I wish I did not worry so much during the process because everything eventually fell into place. There is so much in life that is out of our control, but the only thing we can control is ourselves. I knew that if I wanted to work in the Entertainment Industry, I had to make it happen myself.
My best advice to any student who is looking for a job or internship is to not be afraid to put yourself out there, connect with people, and with campus resources like the Aztec Mentor Program. Stay open-minded, curious, and ask as many questions as you can. You will get so much further making good impressions on people rather than being an online applicant who does not know anyone.
The SDSU alumni network is immense and filled with endless opportunities. More students should be utilizing that.
Through this internship, I have gained so much insight and experience with the Entertainment Industry. I still want to learn more and I am continuing to do so. My drive and ambition is always evolving and I am excited to see what is to come in my career path!
