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For Allison Irey, her dream came true this summer: working as a production technology intern at Nickelodeon Animation Studio in California. She was one of 22 interns out of 6,000 applicants for the program. 

Irey first learned about the , Nickelodeon’s annual internship program, in high school. Since then, she’s been planning and working towards the opportunity to learn from the animators that created her favorite television shows growing up.

“To say that this was a dream of mine is a severe understatement,” she said. 

In high school, Irey, who is from Troy, Ohio, was convinced she would attend college in California. Her mom persuaded her to at least tour one in-state college, and Irey agreed. 

“We visited ������Ƶ in October of my senior year, and as soon as I stepped on campus in the peak fall weather, I was already pretty hooked,” she recalled. “However, we got a chance to attend an academic info session that day, and that's where I learned about the OHIO-in-LA Program. I was determined to go to OU after that, applied to only OU as soon as I got home, and got in.” 

Irey, now a senior in media arts production from the Scripps College of Communication, credits her education and experiential learning opportunities at ������Ƶ for preparing her for the dream opportunity. 

To LA and back again

In Fall 2022, Irey participated in the OHIO-in-LA program, led by Dr. Roger Cooper. During that time, she held three different internships and also attended Cooper’s Business of Hollywood class. 

“Dr. Roger Cooper’s Business of Media and Business of Hollywood classes have been crucial to my success as an intern at Nickelodeon; I know how a professional intern works in a major studio environment, I know how to network properly, and I know how to leave an impact on the places I work all because of these classes,” she said.

One of the guest speakers that met with OHIO-in-LA participants was Jim Leber, vice president of production technology at Paramount and Nickelodeon Animation Studios, who has worked at Nickelodeon since 1993. 

“After this class, I followed up with Jim; we met over Zoom multiple times to talk about his career at Nickelodeon, as well as about my passions lying within animation- specifically at Nickelodeon,” she said. “At the end of December 2022, he encouraged me to apply for the NICKternship program, just to see what would happen – and because he believed I was capable enough to secure a position.”

He was right. Irey secured the internship for this summer, working and living in California from June through August. 

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As an intern, Ire