Meet the Volunteers: Megan Frantz

At NY Creative Interns, we love our volunteers. These individuals are the ones who track down the internships, write the articles, and help make every event a success. We’ll be introducing you to a new member of the team each Friday to help you get to know them.

Megan was born and raised happily and awkwardly as the middle child in a family of five in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2007, Megan started college at the University of California, Davis, where she studied Media Studies. In her Junior year, she discovered AggieTV, the student-run television studio on campus, and immediately signed up as an intern reporter. While her on-camera work was short lived (ending after realizing her inability to not make weird faces while reporting), she soon got into the behind-the-scenes side of TV: producing, writing, filming, and editing.  After two years at AggieTV and an imminent graduation, Megan opted for a change and decided to move to Washington, DC.  While interning at a TV studio in DC, Megan applied for her first Production Assistant job in New York and was offered the position.  She then spent the month of August 2011 commuting between finishing her internship in DC and beginning her job in New York. A dozen Bolt Bus rides later, Megan settled in New York and has since been working for the same production company, now as an Associate Producer, producing television shows and specials for networks such as Animal Planet and NYC Life.

What made you want to volunteer for NY Creative Interns?
I attended a book launch earlier this year and inside the book was an advertisement for the Find & Follow Your Passion Conference. I went home after the launch and immediately registered for the conference with no hesitation. I jumped into signing up to volunteer with the same gusto. The day after the conference, I emailed Emily asking what I needed to do to get involved. Arrange the cookie platter? You got it. Set up the AV equipment? I’m your girl. I would have done pretty much anything. Since then, I have been extremely grateful to be a part of NY Creative Interns because I’ve found it’s an organization that is constantly, if not always, introducing the world to amazing things, whether it’s events, speakers, blogs, etc. It’s one of those things that you can’t not want to be apart of.

How many internships have you had, and where?
Three. While still in school, I interned at AggieTV for two years. I started out as a reporter, then became a camera operator and editor, and then, in my senior year, I worked as the Executive Producer of the studio. After I graduated, I interned in Washington DC at Liveshots DC, and at ThinkTalk.

What’s the coolest thing that has happened to you as a result of an internship?
While interning at AggieTV, I got to produce and direct UC Davis’ first ever LipDub music video.  The song chosen was a mashup of Queen’s Bicycle Race and Don’t Stop Me Now and featured students doing some crazy shenanigans while lip-synching on our campus.

What’s your favorite part of your current job?
The most recent project I’ve worked on has been a show for Animal Planet and my job has been to cast the puppies in the show. A lot of times TV and production work means long hours and hard work, but getting to be the person to say, “Yes, that puppy will be perfect to play Kim Kardashian” makes it all worth it.

If you could hear anyone speak at a future NY Creative Interns event, who would it be?
I feel like the story of becoming an actor can be extremely relatable to people interning and pursuing their dream career. Actors have to work really hard for a long period of time and take on other jobs/side jobs that pay the bills but that don’t satisfy a passion, all to have it pay off in an extremely gratifying and wonderful way. Because of that, I think someone like Amy Poehler or Jason Segal would be amazing to hear speak. But as an aspiring TV producer, I may be a little biased…

It’s 3 pm on a Tuesday afternoon. What are you doing?
My co-workers and I lovingly refer to 3pm at “Coke-o-clock.” When that’s not happening, it may be because I’m too consumed thinking about how to film a scene where two puppies playing Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte need to jump into a puppy-sized swimming pool.

Feel free to contact Megan through email at mafrantz16 [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also check out her website, or connect with her through LinkedIn. Also feel free to leave comments for Megan below.