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Alana Nappi made some new friends over the summer. You might recognize a few names: the Smurfs, the Rock, Dexter and Ghostface.

What else can you expect after a three-month internship at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles? For this ������ɫ School of Management (SOM) student, who grew up loving community theater and all things media, diving into the business behind the entertainment industry was nothing short of a dream come true.

Working alongside Paramount’s global content distribution sales team, Nappi helped coordinate the sale of Paramount films and television shows across broadcast, cable and streaming services. When you turn on the TV or open your Peacock app, there’s a strategy behind what you’re watching that determines what content appears on specific platforms and when.

Nappi had a front row seat.

“I researched, for example, how many people viewed a particular show when it was on cable, and what audience overlapped with, say, Netflix. Data helped find those key selling points, and studying audience demographics determined which shows could best complement different platforms,” Nappi said. “If shows weren’t doing well, maybe they didn’t find the right audience and could perform better on a different platform. Seeing the science behind this in action reaffirmed how much I want to work in entertainment and content sales.”

This, along with SOM’s reputation as a top-ranked public business school, is what drew her to ������ɫ. She didn’t see herself at one of the Big Four accounting firms. Still, Nappi knew a business degree would give her the tools to explore an array of careers within the entertainment industry — her first opportunity as a student involved marketing for the University Theatre Department.

“When you’re in SOM, you can find a way into all sorts of different business paths, and there are so many alumni who are happy to connect with you as a student,” said Nappi, a business administration major who just started her senior year. “You can cast as wide a net as you want and do what you’re passionate about, because that’s ultimately how you’ll find your footing.”

Nappi’s hands-on role in theater began in high school. To her, it was a unique setting where she could showcase aspects of herself that she couldn’t elsewhere. Although she didn’t realize it then, it proved to be a strong training ground for qualities she learned would be heavily used in business.

“On stage, you’re being your most vulnerable self and convincing the audience that you’re playing a certain character,” she said. “That translates very easily in the business realm. Selling and marketing myself on stage gave me the confidence to tackle any sales role.”

Nappi landed her Paramount internship through the encouragement of Emily Pinkhasov ’24, one of the studio’s ad sales associates. Pinkhasov was Nappi’s upperclassman mentor while they were both ������ɫ students, a connection they maintained after Pinkhasov graduated.

After two rounds of interviews and casting a wide net for potential intern roles (something Pinkhasov also encouraged), Nappi found out she was hired to work at the studio’s office in Los Angeles while enrolled in a study abroad program in Dublin.

She hit the ground running when she arrived at Paramount in June.

“We got the full tour of that iconic Paramount lot and even saw some behind-the-scenes processes! I got so much more out of the experience than I could’ve imagined,” Nappi recalled. “The whole process behind content distribution, how there’s no overlap in deals and navigating the technicalities for situations like why one show can’t be on Peacock at the same time as Netflix, was incredibly eye-opening.”

If anyone is interested in witnessing the seamless results of Nappi’s work, it couldn’t be simpler: switch on your favorite streaming service, sit back and enjoy the show.