Sara has been all over campus, but she’s also made her way across the nation (and, occasionally, the world). This California native travelled to Texas for school, which eventually led her to New York City for double internships this past summer.
Name: Sara Robillard
Major: B.S. Advertising, B.A. Theatre & Dance, BDP Global Studies
Year: Senior
Co- and extra- curricular leadership positions: Cohen New Works Festival Marketing & PR co-chair, previous Hook ’em Arts director, member of Communication Council, Publicity chair for Alpha Xi Delta, previous Multimedia chair and current Spirit Organization Recruitment chair for Texas THON
HCTX: What drove you to move from CA to attend UT?
Sara: I wanted a big school in a large, non-college city, which is surprisingly hard to find. Austin was the perfect fit!
HCTX: Along with that, how many times have you studied abroad? Describe your experiences.
Sara: In high school, I studied abroad in Cologne, Germany for 10 months. I lived with a host family, attended a German high school, and made friends from around the world. That experience definitely changed my life completely. I studied abroad again in college, sailing on the Semester at Sea summer 2012 voyage during which I took “Biology of Sharks” and “Travel Documentary Film” as courses while traveling to 8 different countries. During the summer of 2013, I studied abroad again in Germany but this time in Erfurt on the east side of the country, which was an entirely different experience from my first time there. I’m so grateful I’ve been able to take advantage of these opportunities to learn new languages and cultures!
HCTX: What made you decide to major in both theatre and advertising?
Sara: I entered UT as an advertising major, but as the year progressed I knew I couldn’t forget about my passion for dance and musical theatre. I ended up adding theatre as a second major during my sophomore year but it wasn’t until I went to NYC and met with advertising professionals that work exclusively with Broadway that I knew I’d found my calling.
HCTX: How do you feel your majors intersect?
Sara: I get asked this all the time and, while it might not seem obvious, the core of both disciplines is great storytelling.
HCTX: Describe the internships (plural!) you had this past summer in New York City.
Sara: This past summer I interned in NYC at Blue Man Productions and TBWA\Chiat\Day NY. At Blue Man Productions, the main headquarters of all Blue Man Group productions worldwide, I was the marketing and sales intern. One of the great perks of this position was being able to shadow various production crew members. On multiple nights, I followed the stage manager, the run crew and even the band around as they got ready and performed the show. I even got to bow on stage with the blue men! I was a digital strategy intern at TBWA\Chiat\Day NY and I helped run the social media channels for Mr. Peanut and Michelin Tires. Both experiences were completely different from each other so I was able to learn a lot about what I’m looking for in a future job.
HCTX: Where do you see yourself post graduation?
Sara: I hope to move to New York City and pursue a career in theatrical advertising. There are a few Broadway agencies I have my eye on, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
HCTX: What is your biggest dream?
Sara: If I could get paid to convince people to see Broadway shows, I’d be a pretty happy camper. Free tickets wouldn’t hurt either.