Hollywood Internship Program prepares UNC students for careers in entertainment

Every summer, a select group of UNC students trade Chapel Hill for Hollywood, diving headfirst into the entertainment industry through the University’s competitive and career-shaping Hollywood Internship Program.

Since its founding in 1992, the Hollywood Internship Program has connected more than 1,000 students with top-tier internships across the entertainment industry, from NBCUniversal to Funny or Die. 

The program includes a 10-week long internship, alongside a required lecture series. Admitted students must sign up for two summer session classes — Communications 690: Special Topics in Media Studies and Communications 393: Internship. 

Jalen McKoy, an alumnus of the Hollywood Internship Program, said that getting into the program fulfilled his vision of being in Los Angeles and working in the entertainment industry. 

McKoy interned at NBCUniversal the summer of 2022 and started at the NBC Page Program in May of 2024.

“The only reason I am a page is because of the internship program,” McKoy said. “I had no idea what [the NBC Page Program] was until I interned there. And, just being an intern at NBC definitely helped me in my application process, because I got to talk to my old team when I was applying to be a page, and they basically vouched for me.” 

McKoy said that the Hollywood Internship Program helped him learn how to network in a way that was comfortable for him.

“I think through the program, talking to people that were from Carolina and currently working, it allowed me to think about ways to reach out to people in ways that felt authentic and not sometimes like a transaction,” McKoy said. 

Additionally, McKoy said this program allowed him to foster a helpful and familiar community to reach out to in an unfamiliar place, as a decent amount of the program’s alumni still live in L.A. It also helped him narrow down the exact career path he wanted to take in entertainment.

Although he loved the work, he said the people he met during the program are what made it so special. 

Some advice McKoy said he would give to a student considering the program is to be open to every opportunity, figure out both their interests and disinterests, and always remember to have fun through the process.

Another alumnus of the Hollywood Internship Program, Tyson Edwards, said that he had two internships during his summer in L.A.: one at Birns & Sawyer and one at Massproductions. 

Edwards said that he would rotate between the two internships throughout the week in addition to attending a class with speakers.

“We were able to, you know, connect with people, talk to people and get a head start in knowing where to go, especially once the internship program ended,” Edwards said.

Edwards said he is now working on a short film called “In The Weeds” with other alumni he met while in L.A., and the program gave him the community to allow these projects to happen. 

Dayci Brookshire, director of the Hollywood Internship Program, said she is responsible for selecting the program’s interns, helping them get internships in L.A., and teaching them in a class during spring semester. 

Along with her role in HIP, Brookshire is an actor based in L.A. and a UNC alumna.

“I love supporting other Tar Heels and I want to help other Tar Heels navigate this industry and be able to really plant their feet in Hollywood and know that it is possible to make a living doing the various things that they're interested in,” Brookshire said.

Along with that, Brookshire said this role allows her to grow the UNC network in L.A., creating more visibility for the program as a whole.

“It's really important to me to let everyone know who we are,” Brookshire said. “It's making sure that every Tar Heel who comes out here, regardless of if they're a part of the Hollywood Internship Program or not, that they know that they have a support system out here.”

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