Meet Ella Stern: a junior business major and screenwriting minor from Miami, Florida, who spent the summer as an Arts Internship Honors Fellow, interning in Los Angeles with a talent management company, Artists First, and a film and television production company, Project X Entertainment (PXE). Ella fell in love with creative writing at eight years old when she wrote and self-published her first children’s book, The New Year’s Dilemma. At the same time, she discovered a passion for entrepreneurship when she donated the profits from her book to the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital that cared for her while she struggled with asthma, recognizing how creativity could be used to positively impact society.
Over the years, Ella’s love for creative writing shifted to screenwriting as she thought about her dream life. She realized that “writing did not have to stop at the page; instead, storytelling could evolve into living, collaborative projects that unite audiences.” When Ella learned about the Arts Internship Honors Fellowship, she knew it was her chance to make her dreams come true and break into the entertainment industry. To Ella, Hollywood felt like the perfect hub where business skills and creativity intersect.
The Arts Internship Honors Fellowship was established in 2023 with a gift from anonymous donors to fund an internship experience for UNC undergraduates seeking experience working in the arts. Students will hone their craft through internship experience where they learn valuable context, develop their business and arts management skills, and learn how critical funding streams support creative endeavors while being mentored in the field by distinguished practicing artists and arts administrators.
As an Arts Internship Honors Fellow, Ella made the most of the resources and mentorship available to her. At PXE, she read over 40 screenplays and advised whether the company should consider them, while also screening an unfinished movie and providing editorial feedback. To bolster PXE’s connections to upcoming talent, Ella introduced an internal newsletter to share her favorite short films and industry content creators. For her capstone project, she had the opportunity to pitch an original feature to the company at the end of the summer.
During Ella’s internship at Artists First, she further explored her passions for entrepreneurship and entertainment. She worked with talent managers to scout new talent in the industry and help craft unique projects and opportunities for their clients. However, the most impressive part of her work at Artists First was her motivation to put herself out there at the company’s weekly comedy meetings, where they talked about up-and-coming digital creators in the comedy space. At one meeting, Ella pitched a client she found, something interns don’t typically do, and the company ended up taking her suggestion and reaching out to that client. At Artists First, Ella gained such trust with the company that she got the opportunity to cover the CEO’s two assistant desks when they were out, showing that she had really made an effort to go beyond her general intern work.
Outside of work, Ella’s summer included an A-list membership at AMC, trips to Malibu Beach, watching Dodgers’ games, and attending TV and movie premieres. Ella found that she could fully immerse herself in Los Angeles’ culture because of what the fellowship and Honors Carolina made possible. From helping her secure housing to preparing her mentally for the move, the Honors Carolina team made sure she felt fully comfortable before heading to the West Coast. Ella said, “The Honors Carolina team was so helpful in making me feel comfortable every step of the way…and all these small pieces they put together made me feel at home the second I stepped foot in California.”
Most importantly, Ella had an unforgettable experience that has provided clarity toward an exciting future. She spent days working with top executives, sitting in on pitch meetings, and supporting client projects that allowed her to see what her life could look like five or 10 years down the line. She said this experience taught her that “if you dream for something, you can really do it, and it’s the people along the way that make the process.” Ella is excited to keep writing and working on projects that can set her up for a full-time post-grad future in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles because the Arts Internship Honors Fellowship turned her hopes into a tangible reality.
