Growing up, I always dreamed of working in the media industry, so I did everything I could to set myself up for success after college. In school, I majored in film and spent years taking on multiple internships at once, often sacrificing pay for experience.
When the time finally came to start applying for full-time roles, I knew the journey could be difficult. So, I threw my résumé into what felt like an endless void, hoping someone would give me a shot.
I even applied to my dream role as part of the NBC page program, where young professionals work in different areas of the company over the course of a year, gaining experience in fields like production, news, and marketing.
Because the program is known for being extremely selective, I had pretty low hopes of ever being accepted. So, when I got a call that I had landed the position, I was stunned. It felt like a culmination of all my hard work paying off.
My closest friends took me out to celebrate that night. As we clinked fruity margaritas together in a “cheers” to the next chapter, life felt like it was just about as good as it could get.
Landing my dream job right out of college felt surreal
About a month after graduation, I walked into 30 Rock for my first day as a page.
Alongside 25 others in my cohort, I studied up on company facts for public studio tours and loaded live audiences in and out of shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Saturday Night Live.” I also made some close friends along the way.
I was proud to throw on my page uniform and tour pins and represent such a major company day in and day out.
I even started to understand all the classic dream-job clichés, like “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” They used to sound silly to me, but suddenly, they pretty accurately described this new era of my life.
Each day was different from the last in the best way possible, and there was a sense of excitement every time I walked into 30 Rock.
Whether it was spotting a popular celebrity guest in the building, working a once-in-a-lifetime event like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, or simply getting paired up with a close friend to give a tour, there was always something to look forward to.
To say I felt lucky would be an understatement — it felt like I hit the job lottery. But the yearlong program passed in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, it was all over.
At first, I struggled to figure out what was next, but I realized storytelling is my true passion
Now that I had successfully wrapped up my first full-time role, it was time to figure out what was next — and for the first time, I didn’t have a clear answer.
Until then, my life had followed a pretty structured timeline: school, internships, and then the page program. Now, the timeline was simply the rest of my life.
Coming to terms with the unknown was scary, especially since I had achieved my dreams so early in my career. What if I never felt that level of success again?
Eventually, though, my perspective started to shift. I realized that even though the page program was my initial dream job, my long-term goal was to be a storyteller. Through a mix of full-time and freelance work, I’ve been able to write and tell stories in ways I only dreamed of.
So, although I can’t say for sure whether I’ll ever be able to beat the level of excitement I had when I got my job as a page, I’m hopeful I’ll come across my next exciting opportunity soon.
But now, instead of chasing one specific title, I’ve started focusing on the work itself — telling stories in whatever form I can.
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