by Austin Rivers ’17
This past summer, senior Tavon Winbush ‘17 (center of image) spent the summer in greater Los Angeles exploring its media-entertainment industry as a part of the OHIO in LA summer program. Winbush is a Sociology major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University.
This program takes chosen students from Ohio University to to Los Angeles for 3 months to work any media related internship of their choice. During this time students are engaged in a variety of media courses of their interests, where they are able to explore their interests and the Los Angeles area.
Winbush himself was able to secure an internship with Live Nation, an entertainment company who promotes and sponsors concerts. He says his specific job was behind the scenes working on on computing the information for customers applying for sweepstakes, contests instant wins, and other promotional events.
When not in the office Winbush says he and classmates “got to see basically every aspect of the entertainment industry.”
Students were able to a tour some of the entertainment industry’s most famous venues and landmarks such as Sony, Universal Studios, Hollywood. In addition, they got a chance to attend popular TV shows like The Voice and The Talk.
Likewise, one of the best parts of the program is the opportunity to explore Los Angeles famous cultural and scenic spots. Students were able to enjoy famous areas such as Santa Monica Pier, Venice beach, and Malibu.
Winbush, however, said he mainly spent his leisure immersing himself in the culture and activities of Los Angeles, saying that “LA has such a strong and diverse background…so I would try to go to a Hispanic Festival or maybe an Asian Festival to get the full balance of LA.”
He says his favorite part of working for Live Nation was the hands on experience:“It gives you a close intimacy with these artists and see what they are about.”
Through this up close experience Winbush says he learned the value of hard work and what it takes to succeed in any job industry.
His hard work paid off, as he says he found much success in the star studded experiences he had in Los Angeles. He says he met famous entertainers such as DJ Khaled, P Diddy, Randy Jackson, radio host Big Boy, and other famous entertainment icons.
Winbush says these interactions with celebrities, and his at internship at Live Nation opened his eyes to the possibilities open to him: “It showed me there are more options and ways to make your goals possible outside of Ohio.”
For those interested in applying for 2017’s OHIO to LA program you can apply at the university’s Global Opportunities website.
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