Featuring headliners
like Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion and Machine Gun Kelly, the 2021
Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware, drew many UD students to
attend last September. But Elyse DiPisa had the rare opportunity to work
at the festival as an intern.
The junior media communication major was a production assistant and
intern with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), a position she found
through her previous internship with 99.5 WJBR-FM.
“AEG Presents reached out to the radio station I previously worked at
and asked for recommendations of names of students to invite to apply
for the position,” says DiPisa.
With a recommendation from WJBR-FM, DiPisa was able to respond to the
invitation to apply, but there was still plenty of competition for the
role.
“I had to wait a good amount of time to hear back due to the volume
of applications,” she says. “After three to four weeks, I eventually
received an email offering me the position. I was so beyond excited.”
Throughout the festival, DiPisa would get to the Woodlands—the
105-acre area for the festival grounds—every day hours before the doors
opened to the attendees. The public relations press tent was her main
area of work, where she helped with artist interviews, designing
backdrops, creating Instagram content and managing press photography
pits in front of various concert stages. Through her work backstage, she
was able to experience an entirely new side of communications and
media.
The 99.5 WJBR-FM internship was involved in a different area of
communications and media where she wrote multiple weekly local news
articles and stories for the radio station's website and helped aid in
their online presence. Her Firefly internship in comparison was more
physically demanding.
“At Firefly, it was long, constant hours, doing work with marketing
and public relations professionals and aiding in Instagram Story media
content,” DiPisa says.
When speaking of challenges, DiPisa spoke of the long hours and
constant running around backstage tending to others needs. “It was an
amazing experience and I am so grateful for the opportunity. It was
certainly work, but the work was so much fun,” she says. “The live event
industry certainly keeps you on your toes and is fast-paced. It was a
very exciting environment to experience.”
The position helped DiPisa discover a passion for live event media production, which has expanded her possible career paths.
“I think this internship has positively impacted my outlook on my
future and what I want to do career-wise upon graduation,” she says. “I
now have a newfound passion for live production and entertainment, and
can expand my job search to include positions within this new field.”
For other students looking into similar fields, DiPisa advises to not
be afraid to reach out. She explained how networking within your
industry, regardless of the career field you are going into, is
essential.
“Connections within the field are so important,” she says. “I know
the connections I had helped me not only find the application and the
opportunity itself, but also helped me have recommendations and people
supporting me.”
