When the world’s best athletes gather in Brazil to compete in the Olympics, Ithaca College students will play vital behind-the-scenes roles in order to bring the event to audiences in the U.S. NBC has chosen 13 interns from the college’s Roy H. Park School of Communications to support the network’s coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, being held Aug. 5–21 in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’m very proud that NBC has recruited interns from the Park School for every Olympics since 2006; for each of these students, it represents a validation of the comprehensive education they’ve received in their courses, in our co-curricular student media organizations, and through prior internships,” said Diane Gayeski, dean of the Park School. “I consistently hear from internship supervisors that our students are not only well-prepared, but that they also are exceptionally hard working and team oriented. The Olympics will provide an exceptionally challenging and complex environment for them to build their skills and professional networks.”
Three of the students will serve their internship assignments in or around Rio de Janeiro. The remaining 10 will be at the NBC Sports broadcast and production facility in Stamford, Connecticut. Some have been assigned to specific events, including basketball, gymnastics, swimming and track and field. Others will handle tasks such as reviewing video for what’s known as the Highlights Factory, which the network developed to package and distribute coverage through multiple media platforms.
Samantha Meyers, a senior majoring in television-radio, will be an ad inserter in Stamford.
“I’m going to be finding a logical place within games to insert advertisements without interrupting the flow of the event,” said Meyers.
For many of the students, the internships serve as an introduction to their chosen career paths and an opportunity to be involved in a historic event.
“I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with the NBC Sports team covering the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” said Jacob Asman, a senior television-radio major who serves as the play-by-play commentator for Ithaca College football games on the college’s radio station, WICB. “As an aspiring sports broadcaster, I couldn’t be more grateful for the chance to represent Ithaca College, while contributing to one of the world’s biggest sports broadcasts.”
Some of the interns are athletes themselves, and are eager to watch some of the 41 different Olympic sports. Senior communication management and design major Madeleine Overholt, who will be in Rio, plays on the Ithaca College women’s tennis team, and is looking forward to watching tennis as well as some sports that receive less year-round media coverage, like swimming.
“I’m excited to see all the sports, especially the events you don’t normally get to see,” said Overholt.
Ithaca College students have previously interned at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, 2012 Summer Olympics in London, 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.