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Junior Amy Giacobone (Palisades Park, N.J.) managed contracts and kept an eye on the competition for Madison Square Garden this summer, opening up new career possibilities as she enters the second half of her college experience.
Receiving credit toward her International Affairs major, Giacobone interned under the supervision of Brian Lafemina, vice president of advertising sales. The job focused on the selling of advertising space inside the Garden itself, outside the arena, and in all the venues and cable networks associated with it, including the MSG network, Radio City Music Hall, Hartford Civic Center, and the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Her responsibilities entailed managing contracts, monitoring competing stations’ advertising, completing sales calls, and attending meetings.
“Getting accommodated was challenging. It was intimidating at first, adapting to the high expectations of a powerful company,” says Giacobone.
According to Lafemina, the student didn’t have much trouble getting into the swing of things. “Amy was outstanding,” he says. “Any assignment we gave her she did very professionally, beyond her years I would say.”
Because her department shared a building with the Rangers, the Knicks, and Radio City Music Hall, among others, she had the opportunity to meet many celebrities. She also experienced a breakfast meeting of Tom Arnold, host of a sports show on the MSG network, the advertising sales department, and FOX advertising. The participants had an open discussion of how to improve the demographics of the show’s audience, among other things.
“I liked being able to work in such a high-profile company and also thoroughly enjoyed the work environment,” says Giacobone. “The atmosphere of the department itself was great. They refer to themselves as the ‘ad sales’ family, and they were so supportive of everything I thought and did. Other employers should really model themselves and their departments after these people — they’re brilliant.”
“I definitely decided to do the internship because it was outside my normal field of study. I saw it as the perfect chance to get a taste of the advertising field and to see if, in the future, I would want to take it to an international level,” she adds.
Giacobone’s internship experience made her realize that she wants to be on the organizational side of a company, helping others get things done, versus being on the front lines. She has also expanded her career options to include advertising in an international affairs context.
Giacobone is vice president of Student Government, a tour guide, and director of wellness for her sorority, Delta Gamma.