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Samantha Buturla

Class of 2024

BA, Writing and Rhetoric/MA, Communications and Digital Media

How did you become interested in pursuing a BA in Writing and Rhetoric and as part of a combined degree program with the MA in Communications and Digital Media?

I have always loved to write and create real and fictional stories, and it took coming to Pace and enrolling in a Critical Writing course with Professor Joan Drago—based on the New York City campus—to set me down this path. I dedicate my interest in writing and in this degree to her, as she provided sincere feedback on my writing and a sense of urgency to never stop writing.

I wanted to enroll in the Writing and Rhetoric, BA and Communications and Digital Media, MA combined degree program so that I could apply my expanded interests towards a future career. As an undergrad, I have taken several Media, Communications, and Visual Arts courses as open electives (casting and event planning, to name a few) and enjoyed every moment. This combined degree program allows my writing and creative thinking skills to be challenged while I map out a career within which I feel both secure and happy.

Why did you choose to attend Pace?

I chose to attend Pace because I felt in my heart that something great was waiting for me here. I am originally from Massachusetts and have also lived in North Carolina and Georgia, where my family currently resides. I had always known I wanted to go to college in New York, but finding and attending Pace was entirely unplanned. It’s important to follow and listen to your heart and that is why I chose to attend Pace.

What have your experiences been like with the English, Writing, and Cultural Studies Department? Have certain faculty been instrumental in your journey?

My experiences with the English, Writing, and Cultural Studies department have been full of interesting, positive, and supportive times in more ways than one. This department has become a second home and safe place where my fellow classmates and professors provide support. There are people here who care and want to see me succeed; they have helped push me to become a better version of myself. Faculty such as the department chair, Robert Mundy, DA, Alysa Hantgan, PhD, Dana Cadman, PhD, and Jo-Ann Schlesinger, PhD, have all played a crucial role in my success and accomplishments throughout my journey at Pace.

My experiences with the English, Writing, and Cultural Studies department have been full of interesting, positive, and supportive times in more ways than one. There are people here who care and want to see me succeed; they have helped push me to become a better version of myself.

What activities and organizations have you been involved with as a student?

I am the president and managing editor of CHROMA, the literary and arts magazine for students by students, which creates annual issues full of art, poetry, fiction, and more. Previously, I was secretary and senator for the organization and am excited to enter my third year with them.

What internships have you had as a student?

In fall 2023, I was a volunteer for a local non-profit theater in Pleasantville called Arc Stages, which resulted in an internship for the spring semester. My role consisted of being an assistant teacher in children’s theater classes, researching social media marketing, and volunteering time to hang up posters for shows and working concessions for them. It has been so incredible to be involved with an amazing theater surrounded by people who have the same passions as I do. The opportunity came through the English, Writing, and Cultural Studies department and was one of my greatest experiences as a Pace student. I will be resuming my same responsibilities for Arc Stages when I return this fall 2024.

What would you like to do upon graduation/what are your career goals?

I would like to be a published poet and/or screenplay writer. There is so much still to learn and experience; I have many, equal interests in writing and theater, so I hope to have a career somewhere between the two.

What advice would you like to give to our current students?

Be kind to yourself and remember to ask for help even if you are the type of person to push through. Your classmates and professors are here to help you succeed; you are not alone here.

W. Paul Alvarez’s ’16 passion for immigration law is rooted in his own immigration story. Paul was born in Ecuador and later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. "My parents believed that the best chance we had for a better life was to immigrate to the United States. We wanted a chance to live the ‘American Dream’ that we had heard so much about. Therefore, my family settled in New York, and we assimilated quickly. However, as assimilated as we were, we were still living unlawfully in this country. My father knew that the key to our survival was to obtain lawful status that would allow us to live freely in this country. Through an employment sponsorship, my father was able to obtain permanent resident status for our family. I knew at that moment that our life had changed because becoming a permanent resident of the United States would open so many different opportunities for my family. There and then I knew that I wanted to help other immigrants achieve the ‘American Dream’ that I was blessed to have been given."

From that point, every educational step that Paul took was with the motivation to become someone who could help others achieve their "American Dream" as he and his family had achieved theirs. Attending SUNY Oneonta, Paul was a political science and Spanish major. He was frequently on the Dean’s List, a member of the pre-law society and President of the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. "I knew that my ultimate journey would be law school," said Paul.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Paul decided to help run his family-owned business, Alvarez Cleaning Service, Inc. In that capacity, he served as an owner, manager, and bookkeeper for the company. In 2016, he was awarded Business Person of the Year by the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce. While still working for his family business, Paul also applied for and was offered a paralegal position at Julie Mullaney Attorney at Law, a small law firm in Westchester, focusing on immigration law. "It was a great experience. I was able to see what an immigration attorney did from A to Z, ranging from larger issues to day-to-day issues. And, most importantly, it re-solidified my desire to attend law school and become an immigration attorney."

As for choosing Haub Law – "it just made sense," and had everything Paul was looking for – from its location in Westchester, but close to New York City to a top-notch immigration law program featuring practical and classroom learning. While at Haub Law, Paul immersed himself in as much as he was able. "I was a member of the Pace Law Advocacy Honor Board as the Director of Internal Competitions; I participated in every oral advocacy competition that I was able – from immigration, to criminal law, to sports arbitration. I was the president and one of the founding members of the Immigration Law Student Organization, Vice-President of the Public Interest Law Student Organization and the Vice President of the Latin American Law Students Association, a representative for BARBRI, and Admissions Ambassador and Mentor, part of the Faculty-Student band, and player on the Pace intramural soccer team. I looked at every opportunity as a way to broaden my perspective and meet new people. And, I was fortunate to have so many opportunities."

Significantly, while Paul was at Haub Law he was a student attorney with the Pace Criminal Justice Clinic and the Pace Immigration Justice Clinic. He gained practical, hands-on, real-life, attorney experience through these opportunities. "I was doing things in these Clinics that most law students experience for the first time only as admitted attorneys. It was fascinating." His three most influential professors in law school were David Dorfman, Lou Fasulo, and the late Vanessa Merton, because each one of them taught him so many important lessons on becoming a zealous attorney that he will carry on for the rest of his career.

Paul spent thirteen years at the office of Julie Mullaney Attorney at Law, the same firm that gave him his start as a paralegal before attending Law School, ultimately becoming an Associate Attorney with the firm. "I have worked in the immigration field as a paralegal, law clerk, and now an attorney for the last sixteen years. I have experience representing detained and non-detained clients in a variety of immigration matters. While working in the immigration field, one recurring theme that I have observed is the lack of knowledge that immigrants have regarding their rights. It is sad and frustrating to see that the lives of many immigrants are put in jeopardy because they either did not understand the gravity of their situation or they were taken advantage of by "notarios" who prey on the vulnerability of immigrants."

In 2022, Paul took the next leap in his career and opened his own law office in Pleasantville, NY, the Law Office of W. Paul Alvarez PLLC where he continues to work in the immigration field. “My mission has always been to guide my clients in the complex immigration matters and to coordinate community outreach programs that inform immigrants about their rights and opportunities for immigration relief. In this very difficult immigration climate, I’m willing to do everything that I can to keep families together.”

Paul also remains involved in Westchester County and various legal organizations. In his hometown of Pleasantville, he is now serving his second elected term as Village Trustee where he is the Village Liaison to the Chamber of Commerce, the Mt. Pleasant Library, the Volunteer Fire Department and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Westchester County Bar Association. Within the New York Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) he has served as the Secretary of the Student Liaison Committee and is also a member of the Citizenship Day Committee and a member of the UPL and Ethics Committee.

In his spare time, Paul enjoys spending time with his family, he has an eight year old son and a five year old daughter. He is a die-hard Yankee fan who also roots for the NY Giants and NY Rangers. He enjoys playing soccer in men’s competitive leagues throughout Westchester and coaches soccer and wrestling.

Three 2024 Haub Law graduates have been accepted into the prestigious Georgetown Law Tax LLM program. After developing a passion for tax during their studies at Haub Law, recent graduates Gilbert Romero, Abby Miscioscia, and Shelly Aucay decided to apply to the nationally ranked Georgetown Law Tax LLM program to take the next step in their education to pursue a career in tax law. With the strong foundation provided by their education at Haub Law, all three students will pursue the Tax LLM degree starting this fall.

Shelly Aucay ’24 notes that after she took her first tax law class, Federal Income Tax with Professor Bridget Crawford, she realized the intricate and intellectually stimulating nature of tax law. “Tax law intersects with almost every aspect of business and personal finance, it fascinated me. Professor Crawford was instrumental in shaping my tax law journey. Her passion for the subject and her ability to break down complex tax concepts into understandable and practical lessons really inspired me. She not only deepened my understanding of the tax code but also encouraged me to think critically about the role of tax law in society, which led to my decision to pursue a Tax LLM and the confidence to apply to Georgetown to pursue this next step in my education and career.”

Both Gilbert and Shelly applied to the nationally ranked Georgetown program because of the strong emphasis on practical tax law applications and its connection to Washington, DC. “Much like Haub Law, Georgetown’s programs offer flexibility for working professionals,” said Gilbert Romero. Gilbert will be working full-time while completing the program remotely part-time with a goal of focusing on labor, employment, and tax law. “The mentorship and teaching I received at Haub Law, especially from Professor Crawford gave me a boost to take the next step to allow me to reach my career aspirations.”

After completing the LLM program at Georgetown, Shelly aims to work in corporate tax law, focusing on either mergers and acquisitions or employee compensation and benefits. "I would love to help businesses navigate the complexities of the tax system and use my expertise to drive strategic decision-making and support sustainable growth,” said Shelly. “My experience at Haub Law was incredibly enriching. The School provided a solid foundation in legal principles, and the close-knit community of faculty and students fostered an environment where I could grow both personally and professionally. I am grateful for the strong start it gave me in my legal career.”

In an August safety report outlining some of the risks identified in the newly released GPT-4o, OpenAI conducted research on the possibilities of users forming an emotional reliance on the generative AI platform. Through a psychological phenomenon called anthropomorphization, users could attribute human-like qualities to the chatbot and begin to liken it to a real person–which raises many red flags regarding the impact on that user's ability not just to think critically about the information they receive from GPT-4o, but how they engage with other people in their lives.

As someone in a human-centered profession, the thought of people depending on algorithmic means of emotional fulfillment doesn't exactly get me excited. Relationships are at the core of human contentment, and AI cannot provide a relationship that is authentically reciprocal. It can appear that way, which is problematic. AI itself is not the issue. It's more what is missing in society that might cause people to turn to artificial intelligence to have their needs met. Increased siloing of individuals following the pandemic, phone addiction, social media's influence in polarization of thought and opinion, and a lack of third spaces for people to get together and make new connections. GenAI is a tool, not a replacement for real social connections.

Curious to learn what my colleagues at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University thought, I asked some faculty members for their thoughts on how anthropomorphization would impact users from a psychological perspective. See below for some responses from not just AI experts but also professors specializing in Human-Centered Design.

Dr. Juan Shan, Associate Professor of Computer Science

The voice model is amazing from the technical perspective. It is another surprise and milestone from OpenAI. At the same time, I hear people’s worries about the possible negative sides, such as becoming emotionally hooked, ethical issues, security issues, and so on. I share those worries too. If we look back at tech history, there are always positive and negative sides to new technologies, and there are always controversies about new technological advancements. In my opinion, what we can do is to keep ourselves knowledgeable about advancements, use them, test them, and help shape them. We also need to educate our students for both technical skills and strong ethical standards. At the same time, the government should take more responsibility to investigate and lead the development of AI, to detect possible misuse of AI, to estimate possible consequences, and to regulate the publication process of AI products. My optimal vision for the future is that people can enjoy the benefits and convenience brought by AI in daily life, while potential harm is under control and made known to the public.

Dr. Jonathan Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor, Human-Centered Design

The companionship and emotional lives of objects and tools has long been established, but this is a new era where the tool mirrors that relationship back to the user. Humans have the capacity to emote and attach to technology, but the joy, hope, or love they may receive back through AI will be algorithmically defined. While there may be emotional ties from a human to the AI, authentic reciprocity is not received in return.

Human to human emotion takes on a full spectrum of behaviors, feelings, and thoughts. Generative AI is heavily moderated and censored. Generative AI can't get angry or profane, mourn or grieve, or call on personal experiences. For the many emotions we may offer to generative AI, only a select few can be returned to us.

Dr. Zhan Zhang, Associate Professor, Director of Human-Centered Design

People forming emotional ties with AI tools is not a new phenomenon; it has been observed in prior research involving human interactions with voice assistants like Alexa and social robots. Emotional connections with AI are a nuanced and complex subject. On one hand, AI can offer significant emotional support, such as companionship or empathy, by engaging users in meaningful conversations, particularly when it is designed to mimic human-like voices. However, these emotional ties raise critical questions and concerns. For example, forming emotional connections with AI often involves sharing personal thoughts and feelings, which brings up issues of data privacy and the potential misuse of this sensitive information. Moreover, since AI does not possess genuine emotions, any emotional connection felt by the user is inherently one-sided. This creates ethical concerns about the possibility of manipulating users' emotions. More research is needed to investigate this fascinating topic, which has significant societal implications. In particular, human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers can play a crucial role in examining emotional ties with GenAI from both sociotechnical and ethical perspectives.

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The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is pleased to announce that Gabriel Pell and Fernando Mendoza Lopez have joined its faculty as Visiting Assistant Professors of Law. Professor Pell is a former prosecutor who comes to Haub Law after having taught for several years at New York Law School. Professor Mendoza Lopez recently received his JD and PhD from Vanderbilt Law School, and previously served as Director of Economic Studies in the Mexican federal government.

"The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University prides itself on bringing unique teaching perspectives to the classroom,” said Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr. “Our Visiting Professors are both scholars and practitioners whose diverse experience will benefit the Haub Law student experience. We are thrilled to welcome Professors Pell and Mendoza Lopez to Haub Law.”

Professor Pell's research and writing interests focus on criminal law and criminal procedure. He speaks and writes about the application of traditional search-and-seizure practices and other investigatory techniques to new technologies in the digital era. Before joining the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Professor Pell served as an Assistant Professor of Law at New York Law School. Prior to entering academia, Professor Pell spent the bulk of his practicing career as a prosecutor, most recently as an Assistant District Attorney specializing in appeals and post-conviction matters with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. Professor Pell also served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and has held positions in the private sector as well.

Following his graduation from law school, Professor Pell clerked for the Honorable F. Dennis Saylor IV of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Later in his career, Professor Pell clerked for the Honorable Gary S. Katzmann at the Massachusetts Appeals Court. He earned his JD from Harvard Law School and his AB from Princeton University.

“Haub Law has a strong reputation in criminal law – both in its graduating students who go on to become successful Assistant District Attorneys and in its faculty who are experts in the field,” said Professor Pell. “I look forward to sharing my research and experience in this field with the Haub Law community and collaborating with its faculty and students.”

Professor Mendoza Lopez’s research interests include the intersection of public policy and government contracting, with a focus on investigating how procurement processes can be leveraged to achieve broader societal objectives. Prior to entering graduate school, Professor Mendoza Lopez served as Director of Economic Studies in the Mexican federal government, where he oversaw procurement strategies for a range of public goods and services. His experience includes developing policies to enhance competition, promote small businesses, and incorporate environmental considerations into purchasing decisions.

Professor Mendoza Lopez holds a BA and MA in Economics, from the Tecnologico de Monterrey, and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively. In 2024, he earned his JD from Vanderbilt Law School and his PhD in Law and Economics from Vanderbilt University. Additionally, he holds a Masters in International Trade and Finance from Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies in South Korea.

“Throughout my career I have focused on developing positive policies to better society and I cannot think of a better institution to not only share my research towards this end, but to learn from an institution who has been doing exactly that since its founding,” said Professor Mendoza Lopez. “Haub Law’s many centers and clinics are devoted to using the law to better society and I am thrilled to have an opportunity to be part of that end goal.”

In 2023, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University appointed Paul Rink and Salihah Denman as Visiting Assistant Professors. Professors Rink and Denman will each remain at Haub Law for a second year as Visiting Assistant Professors for the 2024–2025 academic year.

Renowned choreographer to lead and innovate prestigious dance program’s semester in LA

Pace University’s Sands College of Performing Arts has named Mandy Moore as director of its Commercial Dance LA semester. The BFA Commercial Dance Program was founded in 2012 and launched its first full semester in LA in 2018. The Commercial Dance program brings 35 students to Los Angeles in the spring semester of their junior year. The renowned choreographer will teach the choreography for its camera course and direct the showcase course.

Moore’s exceptional career is marked by groundbreaking achievements and a profound impact on the dance and entertainment industry. With three Emmy Awards among her 13 nominations, she has captivated audiences worldwide through her work on iconic productions such as "So You Think You Can Dance."

Moore made history in 2017 as the first choreographer to work on the Golden Globe Awards, Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and Emmy Awards in the same year. Some of her most recent work includes Paramount’s “Babylon” and “Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.”

Her choreographic artistry has been showcased in acclaimed films such as Chazelle’s original "La La Land," and "American Hustle," as well as in television shows like "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist," and "Glee." Her stage work includes directing and choreographing the “Dancing with the Stars Tour,” “The Wedding Singer,” and “Nobody Loves You.”

Jennifer Holmes, who was recently named inaugural dean of the Sands, is pleased to have Moore as the program’s new LA semester director. “It is a tremendous honor to have Mandy Moore as the director of our Commercial Dance LA Semester,” said Holmes. “Her numerous awards and achievements as well as her limitless talent for teaching choreography is the ultimate compliment to our program. Our students are in the fortunate position of being able to learn from the best in the business.”

Moore is joining the Sands College of Performing Arts at an exciting time. The program is selective and only takes 30-35 students each year out of approximately 1,000 applicants. In fact, for the second year in a row, Pace has been named one of the top ten most represented colleges on the Broadway stage by Playbill, one of the leading theatre news publications.

“I am looking forward to getting in the classroom and experiencing all the wonderful light bulb moments that happen in the learning process,” said Moore. “I am also honored to be a resource for each one of these dancers as they travel along their artistic path.”

The appointment comes at an exciting time for the program. The Sands College of Performing Arts recently celebrated the graduation of its inaugural class in May. This milestone comes after the program became the seventh school and college within Pace, thanks to a $25 million gift from Pamela and Rob Sands, J.D. ’84.

The Sands donation is part of a larger campaign for the more than $200 million transformation of One Pace Plaza, its flagship building in lower Manhattan. This transformation will include new academic spaces, a modernized residence hall, and a new state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center. The Performing Arts Center will include a 450-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat flexible theater, and a 99-seat black box theater. The new space will also feature scene and costume shops, dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, green rooms, dance studios, and public gathering spaces.

About Pace University

Since 1906, Pace University has been transforming the lives of its diverse students—academically, professionally, and socioeconomically. With campuses in New York City and Westchester County, Pace offers bachelor, master, and doctoral degree programs to 13,600 students in its College of Health Professions, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Lubin School of Business, Sands College of Performing Arts, School of Education, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

About Sands College of Performing Arts

Sands College of Performing Arts is a cutting-edge performing arts school that nurtures artistic innovation and develops future leaders and changemakers in the profession. Renowned for its diverse range of highly-ranked programs, Sands College is committed to cultivating top-talent performers, designers, and production professionals. From Hollywood to Broadway, Sands College students and alumni have appeared in major film and television productions and theater performances such as & Juliet, A Beautiful Noise, A Strange Loop, Almost Famous, Hadestown, Hamilton, Kimberly Akimbo, MJ The Musical, Moulin Rouge, Ohio State Murders, Wicked, and the 2022 Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Recognized by Playbill in 2023 as one of the 10 most represented colleges on Broadway, Sands College continues to inspire the next generation of artists on stage and screen.

In spring 2024, students from three courses, The Artist as Activist, Nonviolence: Theory and Practice, and Dramaturgy 1 engaged with the world-renowned, Vermont-based social justice theater company, Bread and Puppet, for an afternoon workshop at the Judson Memorial Church in New York City.

In small groups, and guided by a Bread and Puppet puppeteer, they wrote and performed mini cantastoria (from the Italian “canta storia,” or “sung story”), a form of street theater using song, movement, text, and puppetry that is championed by Bread and Puppet.

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Timely themes such as student loan debt, mass incarceration, and the destruction of the planet were given voice and brought to life by musical instruments students learned to play, such as cymbals, bass drums, and tambourines, as well as artistic backdrops created on large sheets of white paper.

After the conclusion of the workshop, Bread and Puppet performed for a full house at Judson. Adjunct Professor Aaron Ellis, PhD, Sands College, organized and served as facilitator of a post-show discussion. It featured three members of the Bread and Puppet Theater, Professor of English Sid Ray, PhD, and Associate Professor and Chair of Peace and Justice Studies Emily Welty, PhD, faculty who, in addition to Ellis, mentored students throughout this unique opportunity.

The arts meet activism

Ellis, an activist-in-residence for the Peace and Justice Studies program in spring 2024, was a key factor in bringing the Bread and Puppet theater to Pace students, working with their colleagues to envision, plan, and facilitate the workshop as well as the post-show discussion by Ray and Welty, the subject of the latter including the overlap and role of radical arts and social justice teaching today.

It was an afternoon filled with interdisciplinary learning, growth, and collaboration. And according to Ellis, it was through this opportunity that students deeply engaged in exercising the basic muscle necessary for theater: using art, collaboration, and teamwork to address issues of great importance for our times.

“Participants–even those with theater training–learned new performance traditions, skills, and ways of demonstrating their activism and advocacy through performance, in community. They learned these new skills under the strong facilitation and guidance from experts in the field and tried and succeeded in creating new things, supported by, and supporting their peers,” they said.

Aja Ammeen ’26, Peace and Justice Studies, was one of the students enrolled in this workshop. “I learned how to incorporate other forms of art into activism and how to share it with others without over complicating the performance or message. Overall, the experience was wonderful, and it's something I love to reminisce about,” she said.

Funding for experiential learning at Pace

An example of experiential learning at Pace that builds on classroom experience yet is both outside a traditional civic engagement course and involves faculty engagement, this workshop was one of nine projects funded to date by Dyson’s Experiential Learning Innovation Fund.

The goal of the fund is to advance efforts to build the Pace community internally and differentiate it as a leader in experiential education. And Kelley Kreitz, PhD, director of experiential learning and the Pace Path, is pleased to witness the fund’s mission come to fruition through this opportunity.

She said, “Experiential learning at Pace empowers students to learn in and with our communities in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley and to become makers of the world in which they want to live.”

Bianca Mazur

Class of 2027

Currently Studying: BBA in Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications and Sports Marketing (double major) / MS in Social Media Mobile Marketing (combined degree) with a minor in Journalism and Digital Storytelling

Current Internship: Marketing Intern, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

Pronouns: She/Her

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Lubin student Bianca Mazur '27 is interning and sharpening her skills in social media, publicity, community engagement, analytics, influencer relations, and brand management.

How has the Lubin School of Business helped you prepare for your current internship?

The Lubin School of Business has helped me prepare for my current internship by giving me a strong foundation for professional experiences. My business core courses have provided me with a great understanding of the principles of marketing and management, which I use every day in my internship. As Digital Marketing Coordinator for the American Marketing Association, I ran the organization's social media accounts, which served as an amazing chance to create content and handle community management, two of the tasks I work on every week at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Additionally, completing the ASPIRE Program through Career Services has helped me perfect my response to "tell me about yourself," which has been asked in the 30+ informational interviews I've had so far this summer.

What attracted you to this internship?

I interned with Warner Bros. Discovery last summer and had a blast, so I was more than happy to return. I knew that working with the marketing team for the Studio Tour would expose me to a variety of aspects of marketing, including social media, publicity, community engagement, analytics, influencer relations, and brand management. I was eager to gain experience in the different areas of marketing, so this internship is an excellent fit for me. Furthermore, I really enjoyed being part of WBD's internship program last year, and I was excited to come back to meet all the new interns and have another great summer with the company.

Describe what a typical day looks like as an intern at your organization?

Since my department comes into the office every day, my morning starts at my desk at 8:30 a.m. After saying "hi" to the team, I respond to emails and then open Sprout Social to do some community management for our social media accounts. All of my department meetings are before lunch because we work with some people on the east coast. We discuss upcoming marketing campaigns, social media strategy, or data analytics, depending on the day. The rest of my morning consists of coffee chats, informational interviews, and intern events. I try to schedule at least three meetings per week with someone outside of the Studio Tour department to learn about their role for WBD, since there are so many cool people across the company's brands. I'm able to meet lots of interns in Los Angeles through the frequent events hosted by Early Talent, whether it's a networking mixer or a speaker panel with executives. After getting lunch with my team at the Commissary, I work on my projects for the week. They vary based on what's going on, which keeps things fresh and interesting. Sometimes I'll conduct market research, write copy for our newsletter, or head down to the Studio Store to take pictures of new products. As the day winds down, I send out some emails to schedule informational interviews, and I'm done at 5:00 p.m.

What has been the highlight or most enjoyable aspect of your internship so far?

The highlight of my internship has definitely been the people. As part of the Reach Honorship Program, this is my second summer interning with WBD, and I've loved catching up with everyone I met last summer. It's great to be back at the company and see the other Reach interns, my former team and mentors, and others I previously connected with. Moreover, my team this year is wonderful; they get me involved in projects and opportunities to help me build my marketing skills and accomplish my goals for the summer. At the beginning of my internship, I sat down with my manager and explained what I wanted to get out of this experience, and the team has made sure that I'm able to meet these goals, which I'm incredibly grateful for.

How has this experience shaped or impacted your career goals?

This experience has helped me realize how much I enjoy creating content for social media, which makes me thrilled to continue down this path with my combined degree track, where I will be getting a MS in Social Media and Mobile Marketing. I love coming up with ideas for posts, writing scripts and outlines, filming, and editing everything together to make a great final product. I really feel that my majors, minors, and master's degree are the perfect combination for my interests. This internship has solidified my career goals and given me the opportunity to meet people willing to help me achieve them.

How will this experience impact your next semester at Lubin?

This experience has helped me develop my marketing skills, which I will put to use in campaigns and projects for my Special Events Marketing for Arts, Entertainment and Sports course this fall semester. Additionally, I'm excited to apply what I've learned this summer to my leadership positions at Pace. Creating content that aligns with a brand's values this summer has given me the opportunity to strengthen my social media management and digital storytelling skills, which will come in handy as the Social Media Marketing Manager for POPTV, Pace's multimedia and pop culture club. I also hold the position of Chief Operations Officer for the American Marketing Association, which requires project management, team collaboration, and effective communication skills. I've been able to grow all of these by working on multiple marketing projects each week this summer, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what my next semester at Lubin will bring.

As Wayne Gretzky said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." You never know how one action could impact your future unless you go for it, so send that email, make that connection, and keep in touch. Networking is so important at an internship, so make the most of your time there by finding people who can support you and help you achieve your goals.

Do you have any advice for other Lubin students who would like to pursue an internship in the future?

As Wayne Gretzky said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." You never know how one action could impact your future unless you go for it, so send that email, make that connection, and keep in touch. Networking is so important at an internship, so make the most of your time there by finding people who can support you and help you achieve your goals. Also, Career Services will be your best friend when applying for an internship. They're great to visit for resume help, interview prep, and more. I highly recommend them!

Connect with Bianca:

• Connect with Bianca Mazur on LinkedIn
• Follow Bianca Mazur on Instagram