Golden State of Mind

From star sightings to streaming projects, Justin Jung’s summer in L.A. was unforgettable.

For Justin Jung, a fourth-year entertainment and media studies student at the University of Georgia, exploring Los Angeles has always been high on the list. With its bright lights, iconic West Coast beaches, and the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, starting off a career in Southern California is the dream for students looking to break into the entertainment scene.

This summer, Jung took the leap to turn his dreams into reality through the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication Los Angeles Domestic Field Study Program. For eight weeks, students spent their summer in the Golden State working a full-time internship alongside a class called “Grady L.A.: Media Industries in Context” and completing additional class excursions throughout the city.

“You can’t throw a rock in L.A. without hitting someone who’s a writer, director, or producer,” said Jung. “The city is just so different that it’s really hard to get an idea of what your day-to-day life will be like without actually living in L.A. for an extended period of time.”

In the first few days of living in the City of Angels, students had the opportunity to support and attend the Peabody Awards, a prestigious award show started by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1940. The Peabody Awards recognize the most empowering stories released in digital media and were initially deemed the Pulitzer Prize for radio.

Grady L.A. students prepared for the award show for months, attending Zoom meetings and getting assigned specific roles to support their industry goals. Hours before the Peabodys, students got to walk around the event space and learn about the logistics of running a major award show. Jung served as a talent escort, walking attendees from the entrance to the red carpet. He even got to meet big names in the entertainment realm such as Lorne Michaels, Anna Kendrick, Roy Wood Jr. and Jon Hamm.

“It was the first time I had worked on a live event,” said Jung. “I would not have had the opportunity to work on something of this scale without the Grady L.A. program.”

On the day Jung arrived in L.A., he received his official offer letter for his internship and felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders as he adjusted to life in a new city. Jung worked for TriCoast Worldwide, a full-service media company, as a post-production intern. Each day looked different, from creating short promotional videos for the “Dark Matter TV” and “Made It Myself TV” FAST channels, to developing a brand style guide for the “Dark Matter Film Festival.” The fast-paced nature of Jung’s internship deepened his understanding of the entertainment industry and increased his passion for the field.

“I think the valuable part of it for me was getting the experience working in a professional environment,” said Jung. “It was my first time being part of a really dedicated post-production team, so it was good to get an idea of the workflows and language that people use at a high level.”

Outside of the classroom and work, Jung enjoyed going on class excursions throughout the city, his favorite being a visit to the Writer’s Guild Foundation. This library is perfect for movie and TV fans alike, as the public can access and read entertainment scripts from original pilot episodes to polished final versions. Jung read early drafts of scripts for “Back to the Future” during his visit.

Even with a distance of over 2,200 miles, the University of Georgia has a strong alumni network in L.A. During the program, students had site visits to big names such as Disney, Paramount, and Warner Bros., getting a close-up perspective on the ins and outs of the entertainment industry. Students also had the opportunity to visit United Talent Agency, where they met CEO David Kramer, a Grady graduate.

“We were walking around in offices where A-list stars and big directors and producers have been, but the people we visited were really inviting and open to answering questions, even though we were just students,” Jung said.

Trading out the South for the West Coast was not easy, but Jung said the program shifted his perspective and brought him closer to his career goals. His excitement for the future continues to grow. Jung is graduating this December and said that while this next chapter may be nerve-racking, the Grady program has set him up for success.

“You have to do the work to find an internship and do other things outside of class,” said Jung. “If you just do the stuff that’s required of you, then you’re missing out on a lot of great opportunities.”

Author: Belle Wilkins, isabelle.wilkins@uga.edu

Editor: Lily Alarcon, lily.alarcon@uga.edu