PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Two Oregon college students were supposed to spend the summer in Hollywood to start an elite fellowship program with the Television Academy Foundation but the pandemic changed things.
Instead of meeting face-to-face with Hollywood heavyweights, Moni Kovacs and Skylar Van Tilburg are meeting them virtually without leaving their homes.
Moni, who is a recent graduate of Oregon State University, and University of Oregon graduate Skylar each scored a place among the 50 people chosen for the Television Academy Foundation’s prestigious 2020 Summer Fellows program.
The foundation shifted its internship program to an online experience due to the pandemic. A virtual program wasn’t the same as traveling to Los Angeles but Moni and Skylar said they still learned a lot in the past three months and met people like Gina Prince Bythewood, the director of The Old Guard starring Charlize Theron.
“She was in the exact same program Moni and I were in so it was cool to hear about her experience and how it propelled her into TV industry,” said Skylar. “It was cool and inspiring for all of us to hear from her.”
Skylar plans to pursue the publicity angle of show business while Moni is interested in the creative side of things. Both are currently looking for jobs.
“I’m supposed to have a Zoom interview with the president of Radical Media and the CEO of the Television Academy Frank Scherma so I’m excited for that,” Moni said. “Hopefully something big comes out of it.”
To see more of Moni’s work you can visi itsmoni.com.