A Day in LA

I just finished up my final exam in Government and Media, bringing to a close a great semester in Los Angeles. My internship is done and the last requirements for my classes have been met. Tomorrow, I will swing by the TBWA\Chiat\Day agency once more to say "goodbye" and then pick up my dad at the airport so that we may drive home to Texas on Friday morning. 

This post is an opportunity for reflection, a chance to gather my thoughts and to offer advice to the next crop of ICLAers.

ICLA is a tremendous experience, one that has given me a great deal of direction for my professional future. Los Angeles is crawling with internship opportunities at big name places that lead to helpful connections and a crash course in one's field of interest. If the credits and timing work out, a student should WITHOUT A DOUBT plan a semester at the Pendleton Center. 

As for securing an internship, students should determine in advance where they want to intern, however realizing that internship sites often do not want to seal the deal until they can meet with you in LA for in-person interviews. Thus, no one should be alarmed upon arriving in LA sans confirmed internship.  By the same token, some internships have a lengthy application process which means that ICLA participants need to be aware of deadlines and look into opportunities far enough in advance. Certain internship sites may interview over the phone and expect a reply to an internship offer before many of the other sites make offers; there is no need to feel pressured and it is more than acceptable to ask if it is possible to extend the refusal/acceptance date.  When in doubt, it is OK to blame your internship advisor. Seriously, they want you to.

It is very easy to take classes at the Pendleton Center that are required for Park majors/minors, so underclassmen looking at the ICLA program should plan to take those required courses during the semester in LA and not in Ithaca in order to maximize efficiency.

ICLA program alums are always more than happy to help and are great resources for pointers about living, driving, taking classes, interning or anything in LA. Feel free to contact me at ccastle1@ithaca.edu with any questions regarding my experience. Furthermore, the staff members at the Pendleton Center are absolutely amazing and incredibly helpful - they usually have the answer to any and every little question.

Ithaca College has an extensive alumni network in Los Angeles and every IC kiddo should take advantage of that. There are wonderful and friendly alums everywhere that just love their fellow Ithacans. I can't tell you how many times I have run into an Ithaca graduate while going out or how often I have seen an IC bumper sticker (sometimes a telltale IC red parking sticker!) while driving around.

Someone once told me that the greater Los Angeles area is made up of over 700 cities. I'm not sure if that is true, but basically there are several neighborhoods/regions of Los Angeles that are very distinct and worth visiting. Santa Monica and Venice are my favorite areas. Additionally, side trips to Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, San Diego, Napa Valley and San Francisco really round out the West Coast experience.

Eat as much Frozen Yogurt ("Fro Yo") as possible in California - those Californians know how to make a mean nonfat yogurt that is simply delightful. Pinkberry is my undisputed favorite frozen yogurt.

Thank you for reading my blog this semester! It has been a joy to document my experiences so that others may learn more about one of the premiere offerings of the Roy H. Park School of Communications!

The semester is coming to a close; we have finals this week as well as the very last days of interning. To say "goodbye" and just to celebrate an awesome semester, the RAs and Jon put together the semiannual Luau Semi-Formal tonight, sending off the students in style. I have really never seen so many Hawaiian decorations in my life - it was as if every item on the "Luau" page of an Oriental Trading magazine had been purchased over the years. The Pendleton center was transformed and it looked AWESOME! Every little detail was attended too, from a shell-shaped punch bowl and ladle to an old Frankie Avalon beach movie playing on the big screen TV in the entrance. 

The spread of food included delicious little desserts, shrimp and chicken kabobs, appetizers of carrots and chips and the finishing touch was the legendary chocolate fountain. The whole affair was just marvelous. Food, a fun slide show of memorable ICLA photos from the semester and groovy beats supplied by RA Nellie made for a fun farewell evening.

Yesterday was the annual holiday party for TBWA\Chiat\Day and I was very fortunate that my supervisor invited me along to be her "date!" The party was just for full-time employees, but each employee was allowed a +1 for the event and my supervisor was very sweet to think of me and to include me in the festivities. My fellow intern Hannah was also invited by her supervisor so we were able to go together!

The big bash was held at Social, a club/bar/restaurant on Sunset. It was a huge venue that fit those who showed up from the agency of over 800 employees. The evening included an open drink bar, food stations (a sushi buffet, Italian buffet and American favorites buffet), a dessert bar and several rooms on two levels with different music. It was so fun to see everyone dressed up, especially since Chiat\Day has such a casual work environment that most people just wear jeans everyday. I actually didn't recognize some people because they looked so snazzy in their suits and ties!

I think without a doubt seeing people dance was my favorite part - adorable. As for the music, remixes of such classics as "Jessie's Girl" and "Sweet Child of Mine" dominated the dance floor for the evening; so think hip hop meets techno meets Guns n Roses. Surprising...surprisingly fun.

The world is such a small place - one of my closest friends from my CC-CS study abroad program in Spain last semester happens to live in Orange County, a mere 45 minute drive from LA (without traffic). What is even crazier is that she is interning just five minutes from my apartment at the Ellen Show with about a million people from Ithaca College. Coincidences like that are so cool. What is sad is that it took us the ENTIRE semester to finally get together.

It is so strange to meet someone in another country and then see them in their "natural habitat" or context. That person is so different, and you are so different too because you are no longer united by your shared outsider status. It is difficult to explain but truly interesting. It was so wonderful seeing her, however, and I was extremely grateful that we finally had an opportunity to catch up. 

She goes to Chapman University in the city of Orange in Orange County, so I drove out there and we met up for lunch at a lovely cafe. We chatted about our experience getting re-acclimated to life in the U.S. after a semester abroad. After that we made a quick trip to the Golden Spoon, an awesome frozen yogurt place. California has really mastered the nonfat yogurt; it is extremely creamy and delicious while only setting the eater back 22 calories an ounce.

In the middle of our visit I got a text from an ICLA kiddo who purchased some ridiculously cheap Celine Dion tickets and he was looking for a buddy to go with him. I jumped at the chance to see the Canadian diva with a good friend! My classmate from Spain had to get to work, so I headed back to Burbank just in time to leave for the concert.

The show was really something! Celine's voice is amazing! I was so thrilled to be invited!

The "Taking Chances World Tour" has been everywhere - Celine started in South Africa and made it all the way to Tokyo before LA. She actually had to cancel a few shows along the tour due to illness, so at the beginning of the show last night she gave an extremely heartfelt apology for the inconveniences those cancellations might have caused her fans. She threw in a few of her new songs with a heavy helping of the old favorites. We lost count of the winks and the chest pounds the starlet gave throughout the course of the night. It was in a word, magical.