Finalists for the NBC Olympic internship are preparing for their upcoming interviews.
“There were a lot of applicants and they picked 40, which is excellent,” said Communications Professor Paul Gullifor. “It has exceeded my most optimized expectations. It speaks volumes of the quality of our students and the applications sent in.”
Gullifor said he spoke to NBC about the applications.
“NBC told me they genuinely had difficulty deciding where to draw the line,” he said.
Gullifor said they are taking a number of steps to prepare students for the upcoming interviews with NBC.
“We have a few steps. Our alumni group, BUCAN, are doing mock interviews,” he said. “It’s an infinity group composed of alums of our department, they always want to give back. This group is incredible, they created scheduling grids, doing the sign-ups and are even recruiting other department alums in the area to help our students prepare. The Smith Career Center is also helping with workshops to teach students the basics-posture, eye contact and handshakes. “
Students will also have a dress rehearsal that will be recorded and streamed to Gullifor, in hopes for one final critique before NBC.
“Our goal [is] by the time NBC gets here, you guys will have been through an interview workshop, a mock interview and a dress rehearsal,” Gullifor said. “Unfortunately because of time constraints, I’d like to be able to do a content presentation on NBC, the Olympics and Comcast, but how do you get 40 students in one place at the same time?”
Gullifor said he is hoping students will take the initiative to educate themselves on NBC.
“It’ll be great if NBC takes any number of our students, [but] just the act of going through research, critiques and interviews is a great educational exercise,” he said.
Gullifor said the students and the faculty are really excited for this opportunity.
“Kids were out here [Global Communications Center] screaming when they got their acceptances,” he said. “To see everybody get so passionate, and take a piece of ownership is amazing. It’s been a highlight for me personally, of my career.”
NBC is extremely selective, and only four other schools were invited to apply.
“We are in exclusive company,” Gullifor said. “NBC saw something in us and decided to add us. To me this is national distinction. I can’t stress how collaborative this has been; students, faculty, Alumni, everyone. A total team effort.”
Interviews for finalists will take place later this month.