GEMA Externship Program

The Georgetown Entertainment & Media Alliance (GEMA) and the Cawley Career Education Center collaborate every year on the GEMA Externship Program for undergraduate seniors and others enrolled in graduate programs at Georgetown’s main campus and the School of Continuing Studies.  

In this program, 12 students are selected to visit Los Angeles or New York City (typically six students for LA and six for NY) during undergraduate Spring Break week and attend a number of informational meetings with Georgetown alumni working across a range of fields in entertainment and media. These fields can include Film, Television, Print/Digital Publishing, Music, Theatre, Comedy and Sports and encompass job functions such as producing, writing, directing, broadcast/print/digital journalism, acting/performing, law, marketing, finance, strategy/business development, PR/communications, Human Resources, etc.  

Through these informational alumni meetings, students will receive an excellent overview of the industry and the careers within it, and where possible, we strive to tailor a portion of the meetings for each student to their particular areas of interest.  We suggest you review the below testimonials from previous Externs.

The externship program will take place during spring break (March 3–7) in Los Angeles and New York City.  

The application deadline for the spring 2025 GEMA externship is the close-of-business on Friday, November 1, 2024.

Your application must include:

1. the GEMA externship application form 
2. Resume
3. Cover letter that demonstrates your interest in the entertainment and media industry (drawing on any academic, co-curricular, work or other experiences you may have) and your long-term career goals. How will the GEMA externship experience help you achieve those goals?
4. One letter of reference from a faculty member or employer recommending you for the GEMA externship experience (sent directly from individual providing recommendation by email to jlb49@georgetown.edu).

Reach out to Jacki Banks (jlb49@georgetown.edu) with any questions!

Need based financial assistance is available to selected externs.

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GEMA Student Features

Geritza Carrasco

School & Major: CAS’22 | English

Position: Publishing Assistant, United Talent Agency

“I’m so grateful for the GEMA Externship. It was a week of pure excitement that taught me things I couldn’t learn in the classroom. The connections I made are invaluable to this day, and I was fortunate enough to gain meaningful insights into the entertainment industry alongside friends and peers. I’d recommend GEMA to anyone even remotely interested in a career in entertainment.”

Geritza Carrasco

Alexandra Canal

School & Major: CAS’ 16 | English

Position: Senior Reporter, Yahoo Finance

“The GEMA Externship was absolutely invaluable to my career. Through the program, I was able to network and land my very first job (which just so happened to be my dream job) at People Magazine, which was one of the first places we visited as externs. I remember being in awe of the control room and the producers frantically finishing up their scripts. It was my first true taste of the media world and I haven’t looked back since!”

Alexandra Canal

Chris Almeida

School & Major: CAS’16 | Government & American Musical Culture

Position: General Editor, ESPN & Freelancer, The New Yorker, Bloomberg Businessweek, & The New York Times.

“The Externship was a great opportunity to see how many Georgetown alums worked not only in media, but the kind of media that I was particularly interested in. I was able to talk to writers and editors who had experience in magazines, digital media, and sports—all of which would be relevant to me in the eight years following graduation. And the experience had a longer tail than I was expecting; I was able to reconnect with some people I’d met during the Externship years later to seek their counsel while navigating the always-confusing media industry. The Externship was a great window into a post-college world. But it was also just a lot of fun.”

Chris Almeida

Ryon Henderson

School & Major: MSB ‘21 | Marketing and Management

Position: Brand & Product Marketing Manager, Google/YouTube

“The GEMA Externship was the first time I ever visited LA, let alone the entire West Coast. I am so appreciative of this program for giving me such a great first-impression of the city. The one phrase that I remember reiterating during the trip is “I can’t believe we don’t have to pay these mentors for their time”. The sheer number of alumni I spoke with from entry-level to executive is proof of the strength of the GEMA network, and I am so proud to now be a part of it.“

Ryon Henderson

Aarushi Gupta

School & Major: SFS ’24 | Science, Technology, & International Relations (STIA)

Company: East Coast Page, NBCUniversal

“The GEMA externship was incredible! Meeting alumni, learning how they got to where they are, even commuting around LA, it all made entertainment feel possible for the first time!”

Aarushi Gupta