“I just spontaneously decided to do it. I was like, ‘You know what? I’m not doing anything this summer. Why not?’ And it was super spontaneous,” Moorhead said.  “It didn’t really kick in untill halfway through the second semester in my seminar class, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m really going to LA.’”

Moorhead is an intern for Smart Entertainment, where she gets to provide feedback and read scripts for movies.

“We also get to make our own hypothetical cast list and director list that we can then give to our producer. So we’ve really been doing some awesome work,” Moorhead said, “I actually feel like my work has meaning and that I am making a difference by helping out the assistant, who’s helping out our producer.’’

Moorhead credits Elon for helping her get an internship in LA

“I honestly don’t think I would have gotten this internship if it weren’t for the help of the program and the professional development office,” Moorhead said.

Moorhead was deciding between going to the LA program and the DC program, but ended up going to LA because class excursions to Warner Brothers to see filming for the third season of HBO’s The Pitt appealed more to her interest in the film industry.

“I ultimately decided to go to LA because it felt like the perfect place to start in the film industry.” Moorhead said. “You get the best experience in the entire world of how the industry operates, and that is mainly where the film industry takes place.”

Zoey Hayes ’29 is interning with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) as a Student-Athlete Development intern. She heard about the program in Charlotte through her work at Elon’s Isabella Cannon Global Education Center, but didn’t apply until after she got her internship. Hayes said that through her internship, she gets to travel and interact with people, which is something she loves to do.

“I feel like an intern is just the whole ‘nine to five life,’ kind of getting used to being in an office.” Hayes said. “Yes, I get to travel, which is amazing, and I get to have these days where I’m not in the office, and I’m dealing with people, which I love people.”

Hayes also credits the program with introducing her to new people while also knowing and having friends in the program.

“That was great to already have friends here, but it’s been great getting to know other people that I probably would have never talked to at Elon,” Hayes said.

Through her internship, Hayes traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend panels on sports, where she toured the National Archives and visited the United States Supreme Court.

“One-hundred percent, go do it.” Hayes said, of encouraging other Elon students to apply for the program. “Because it’s not only that you get an internship out of this, you also get the foundation of living in a whole new city.”

Finn Wilkinson ’27, who is studying in New York City this summer, says the energy of the city and the growing film scene is part of the reason she applied.

“It just made sense for me to come up here,” Wilkinson said, “Also, I just really love the city. It’s so vibrant, so full of life. There’s always something going on, something to do. So it’s just a great place to also study away.

Wilkinson interns at Mad Realities in New York and said the highlight of the internship is the hands-on experience it offers.

“I got to help out on one of their pilot sets and get to see how shows come together on a higher professional level.” Wilkinson said,  “I’ve also gotten to help brainstorm and help develop the upcoming shows that they’re also pitching.”

Outside of the classroom and internship, Wilkinson said the community in New York was something that stood out, especially during the NBA finals when the New York Knicks played the San Antonio Spurs. After the Game 3 loss in New York, Wilkinson felt the energy of the city.

“Immediately, the next day: new slogan,  t-shirts, hats, everything,” Wilkinson said, “That’s the sense of community that you just feel being in New York, and it’s really cool to get to be a part of that during a summer where so much is happening.”

Through her internship, Wilkinson said she has learned new skills through conversations.

“It’s been really cool to be able to be a part of these conversations that are defining how the industry is moving and getting to be in the room for those conversations. I’ve learned a lot from it.”

Wilkson said she hopes people don’t feel intimidated by New York if they are considering applying, and that the city has something for everyone.

“I would say, don’t be afraid to jump in. I think a lot of the time people think of New York as this big, scary thing that is so massive and so unconquerable,” Wilkinson said. “But it’s really not; you quickly find your rhythm, and you find the places that you are supposed to be”

Engle, who graduated from Elon in 2022 and currently serves as company manager at Shakespeare Theatre Company, said the Washington, D.C. community has embraced theatre and arts culture.

“I think that when a lot of people think of DC, they think of Capitol Hill and politicians and different lobbying organizations or aid organizations, things that are more visible from the outside perspective and how DC is represented in media,” Engle said. “But DC as a whole has been so welcoming as a theater community; we’re very lucky to have some incredible regional theaters.”

Faculty Director for Study USA D.C., and Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Joel Shelton, echoed Engle, noting that theater is just one part of the arts culture in D.C.

“I think the most important context is that Washington, D.C., is often thought of as a place where politics happens, but culture in the capital is a really fundamental aspect of community here,” Shelton said. “There are so many different manifestations of popular culture in the city, whether that be art, literature, or museums, and especially theater, because, of course, Washington, D.C. is not New York, and it’s not Los Angeles.”

Shelton also said choosing to attend Othello was to show students both the political and artistic parts of the play.

“To me, when we were dreaming of this course, I thought that Othello was a wonderful place to see the linkages between political meaning and cultural production in Washington,” Shelton said. “So you have the arts and culture, but also a play that is deeply political and deeply concerned with contemporary questions around race, gender, power, identity.”

Engle, who earned a degree in arts administration, said that the program introduced her to students with different experiences.

“The program is made up of people who have life experiences and a lot to teach, and you’re coming together with students who are not taking all of the same classes with you, but have different experiences within the school,” Engle said.

Elon junior Kallie Latham, who has a background in dance, said being in the theater had a sense of reminiscence.

“This program has a lot of people with different musical theater interests. We all felt pretty happy and nostalgic,” Latham said.

Latham said the tour gave her a sense of understanding when watching Othello later in the day.

“It’s even better because I think we get to understand the acting and the theater production that goes into all of it, and how all the settings and the background were changing,” Latham said. “That was really cool.”

Engle also highlighted the out-of-the-classroom experiences Elon offers to its students.

“They encourage you to join clubs and travel abroad and to experience the world outside the classroom as well.” Engle said. “I think that ties into the really cool nature of moving beyond the classroom and then into the professional world, and so much of what you do comes down to the relationships you build, and the way you’re able to engage with the world around you.”

Students interested in this experience for summer 2027 may begin applying on Sept. 1. For more information about the program, contact Anna Smith, director of Study USA.