RIT Student Completes Internship with NBC

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Mark Fragale

Sophie Schillaci interviews Stu Hughes, Ritter Arena supervisor, as part of SportsZone coverage of the yearly painting of the arena this month.

Sophie Schillaci, a communication major in Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Liberal Arts, recently completed a four-month internship with the National Broadcasting Corp. in Los Angeles.

Schillaci served as a Web site assistant and writer for the syndicated entertainment series Access Hollywood. In that capacity, she created photo galleries for features such as “Celebrity Sillies” and “Canadian Stars: They Say Eh!” and wrote entertainment articles for the show’s online magazine. She also assisted in the production of episodes of the TV series and was able to interact with co-hosts Nancy O’Dell and Shaun Robinson.

In addition, she had the opportunity to participate in several field assignments including shadowing online correspondent Laura Saltman at a red carpet event for the TV series The Office.

“It was an incredible experience to be a part of such a well-known television series and to learn about the industry first hand,” Schillaci says. “I look forward to putting this new knowledge to use both in my television work here at RIT and in my future professional endeavors.”

Schillaci currently serves as a host and the executive producer for RIT SportsZone and as a reporter for the live television broadcasts of the RIT hockey team.

She graduated from Penfield High School in 2006 and is the daughter of Joanne and Mark Miller of Penfield and Leonard and Holly Schillaci of Charlotte, N.C. Following graduation, Schillaci hopes to return to Los Angeles and get a job in the entertainment industry.

“One of the best parts of my experience was being able to meet so many people working in the industry and get their advice on how to develop my own career,” Schillaci says. “Those contacts and knowledge about how the business works will be invaluable as I seek to enter the industry after college.”