ESU’s Taylor Brittain lands gig with Rachael Ray

Brittain, a senior at ESU, is receiving the opportunity to intern with Rachael Ray. Photo Credit / Brook Wadle
Brittain, a senior at ESU, is receiving the opportunity to intern with Rachael Ray. Photo Credit / Brook Wadle
Brittain, a senior at ESU, is receiving the opportunity to intern with Rachael Ray.
Photo Credit / Brook Wadle

BY VERONES PADILLA

SC Staff Writer

The pressure to find a good internship has become a rite of passage for many college students.  Many professors and advisors stress the importance of beefing up resumes with marketable experiences.

Senior, Taylor Brittain, found what many would consider an extraordinary internship.  Brittain is working for “The Rachael Ray Show” in New York City, and loving every minute of it.

Brittain, who will be graduating in May with a degree in communication studies and broadcasting, found the internship online at internqueen.com.  She began the application process last semester and hoped for the best.

Brittain acknowledges the position was incredibly competitive but she figured it was worth the shot.  In a fortunate turn of events, a networking opportunity presented itself and Brittain took full advantage of the situation.

She was able to get a contact within the Rachael Ray production team and sent out a “thank you” email.  Within a few days Brittain had earned herself an interview with the production coordinator of the show.  This all happened in the midst of finals week.  Two days later, she was offered the position.

“Taylor Brittain has always had a quiet confidence about her.   She is very comfortable with who she is,” said Robert McKenzie, professor in the Communications Department and Brittain’s internship advisor. “

“This internship is a very competitive internship, where she went up against several other students from big universities,” continued McKenzie. “Her experience as a work study assisting ESU’s sports information officer, and her exemplary work in her broadcasting courses plus her confident personality probably gave her an edge.”

Brittain isn’t just filing paperwork or plugging data into a computer.  Her three day a week commute into New York City is giving her experience with the art department, field production and program production teams at the Rachael Ray Show.

On any given day Brittain can be working on filming a clip outside the studio, assisting the art department in designing layouts or taking a trip to Madison Avenue for one of Ms. Ray’s wardrobe changes.

One of Brittain’s latest highlights was serving as the intern on “tea time,” the term designated for the intern who personally assists Ray throughout the taping of a show.

“I love it.  I love the environment.  I’m not a big city girl and didn’t think I was going to like the city, but I really do,” said Brittain.

Brittain thought her big dream would be to land a job in front of the camera. More and more she is discovering her true passions may be in production.

“I want to be doing things behind the scenes, doing the things it takes to put on the show,” she said.

With this latest addition to her resume, she is headed in the right direction.

Email Verones at:

vpadilla@live.esu.edu