Ben Donnelly knows what it means to be one-of-kind. This summer, he is the sole Studio Operations intern at the Food Network in New York. He's the guy, the only one. And that means he always has a lot to do, including:
- Performing morning checks (turning on the kitchens, gas and water, completing safety checks and making sure emergency exits are cleared)
- Assisting lighting crews with hanging and running electrics for the studio
- Acting as a Camera Utility for “Iron Chef,” which means he keeps the workflow and taping smooth by ensuring that no one is tripped up by wires and cables on the floor.
And during productions the senior media arts & entertainment major is not a part of, he observes how others complete their work, and he jumps in after a show has wrapped to help him “understand how the studio can transform from one show to another by helping put cameras in their place and learning about the different equipment and its maintenance.”
And so far so good for Donnelly. The internship has helped him realize he’s headed down the right career path, taught him practical lessons that he couldn’t get in the classroom and helped him forge close relationships with other employees at the Food Network.
“It’s been a great summer so far,” says Donnelly, who’s completing his internship as part of the Elon in New York City program. “The people at the Food Network are the best. They all have taken me aside to teach me something different. I think that is the best part—that most of the tasks out here are stuff that need to be taught in the field.”
Some of his more important on-the-job training has come after he’s made a mistake. He says his work has been well received, and he’s fortunate that when he does err slightly, he has people around him who are willing to assist, not excoriate.
“Every now and then I make a mistake, but someone is there to help me fix it and show me the proper way,” says Donnelly, who found the internship through the Scripps Network website. “Everyone likes the fact that I am learning and that when I am corrected I do my best to show him or her that I’m listening. I think that as time goes on, people at the network respect that I am in the trenches with them.”
Of course, Donnelly didn’t go into his summer experience completely unprepared. He’s worked for Elon Student Television Shows and with Jeff James, Elon’s engineer, during his time at Elon. He’s gotten his hands dirty, so he did arrive at the Food Network with knowledge of studio operations
But the speed—that’s where the differences truly begin.
“If you can look at what we produce at Elon and times it by 1,000,” Donnelly says, “that is what the Food Network is doing.”
Donnelly says “Iron Chef,” in particular, involves many moving pieces, so it can get hectic when it’s time to tape 60-minute show that pits real-world chefs against Food Network personalities. But it’s that quickness, that pace, that speed that has helped Donnelly confirm, in his mind, that he’s headed in the right direction.
“This internship affirms what I want to do for a career after Elon,” he says. “I have enjoyed the internship fully. It has definitely shown me that I want to go into the entertainment industry in some way. Overall, this internship is preparing me for the real world that I am looking forward to after Elon.”
Intern Insider will run one to two times a week during the summer and will feature brief stories about some of the interns from the School of Communications or in School of Communications programs.