Anika Prots was a “just a small town girl” until she took a “midnight train” to L.A. for the opportunity of a life time!
Hometown: Newbury, Ohio
Grade: Senior
Major: Creative Writing and Journalism
Clubs/Groups Involved in on Campus: Chi Omega and Work Study
What was it like working the Emmy’s?: The Emmy’s were unbelievable. It was crazy to be a part of a production that I’ve spent my life watching on TV. I watched the red carpet be built from the ground up. I was a part of Emmys’ history as this was the longest red carpet in Emmys’ history. I was there working with people, who do this for a living and it’s just a regular day for them. I was walking around like a kid in Disney for the first time. I wanted to take everything in but I didn’t know where to start.
What did you take away from this experience?: The biggest thing I’ve learned from this was to be kind to people and work hard. My boss’s name is Amy, she’s been at E! for 5 years now and this was her last award show as she’s moving to New York. This woman is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever seen. Very legitimately the show would not have happened without her (she was in charge of union labor for the entire production, working with ABC, on top of her position with E!) People were so upset that she is leaving because she works hard, does her job right and genuinely cares about the people she works with. I have grown up in the restaurant/food service industry so I could understand that on a really personal level. My job here at home requires me to interact with a lot of different people and that’s kind of how it was at the Emmys’ too. People respond to kindness and hard work. It sounds cheesy but it’ll get you far and it’ll get you noticed.
What were some highs and lows of your trip?: The high point of my trip was literally every day. I mean how many people get to live out their dream job while they’re still in school? If you want some more specific examples walking the red carpet was really cool, I got to work with some friends that I had made while I was working with NBC during the Republic National Convention again, and the dad from Shameless smiled at me on Sunday and asked me how my day was! The highest point was Sunday while I was watching the PreShow stuff from behind the scenes, I was talking to one of the guys my boss worked with from ABC. I had been in their workspace on and off during the week but I never worked for them directly. He had asked me how long I lived in LA and I told him “a week” and explained I’m from Cleveland, that I just came out for this week and would be flying home on Monday to finish up my degree. He then remembered how I met Amy at the RNC and said “You guys from the RNC have been killing it this week. There’s a lot of us here who want to continue working with you. Please make sure you stay in touch with us.” This isn’t an industry where you submit a resume and wear a suit to work. It’s one that requires you to have connections to people. That’s how you get jobs. Dan, the guy I was talking to, hasn’t submitted a formal resume in 3 years. He gets his jobs because people recommend him when they’re asked if they know anyone available. For him to tell me to keep in touch was a huge deal. I called my mom freaking out with excitement. The low point was honestly coming home. Not that I don’t love The Land. I’m born and raised in Cleveland and this will always be my home. I’ve found my passion. I’ve found the thing I want to spend the rest of my life doing and I’m just within reach of having it. People say when you find the person you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with you’ll just know that it’s the right person. I haven’t found that person but I’ve found that job and I’ve found that city. If it were up to me I’d pack my bags and move out to LA tomorrow, but my mom would kill me if I didn’t finish my degree so I’m waiting until May. And that’s hard to do. It’s hard to focus in class when I know I could be out there, in my field learning things that’ll prepare me for my career too. So coming home would have to be my low point. It’s also going to be a low point when I leave home and move out there because everything else that I love is here in Cleveland.
What was it like in L.A. compared to Cleveland?: LA is just a massively bigger city. There’s so many people all of whom are doing so many different things. And people break stereotypes out there, I met an accountant with full tattoo sleeves among other tattoo locations, who was so chill and here I only ever see clean cut “professional” looking people in a field like that. What they say about traffic is true, it’s awful. The biggest difference (for me at least) was the food. Coming from a family where that’s how we make our living I appreciate good food. LA definitely has good food but it’s all so healthy. So if you want a good greasy burger stay in Cleveland.
Don’t stop believing in your dreams, Anika!