Joel Vargas ’14 Explores TV Production on HBO’s Girls and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

Film and media studies major Joel Vargas ’14 (Bronx, N.Y.) had an exciting summer as an intern on the HBO sets of the television comedy-drama Girls and monthly sports news program Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Joel Vargas ’14

Vargas was able to participate in shoots where he carried out production assistant duties.  He also shadowed editors, graphic designers, and sound mixers who worked on promotional material for HBO, as well as the shows Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, VICE, and Larry David’s new film Clear History.

“This internship gave me a new perspective on my major because it let me experience the various avenues of the media industry and get a taste of what everyone does, which has allowed me to better gauge what I want to do with my future,” he says.

“The best moment of the internship for me was listening to all of the executives speak to the interns every week and listening to their stories about how they were able to get to where they are today in the industry and receiving priceless advice for our futures,” he adds.

Vargas’ plans for after graduation include taking a year off and moving to California.

“This internship definitely helped me see more clearly what I want to do with my future,” he says.  “I’m considering pursuing on-set production and working my way up to director someday, although color grading seems to be a very tempting option as well.”

Beinecke Scholarship

Vargas is the recipient of the prestigious Beinecke Scholarship, awarded to 20 students nationwide this year. He will receive $4,000 now and $30,000 when he attends a graduate school in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.  He is also the recipient of the College’s Creative and Performing Arts fellowship and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.  He is the co-organizer of the Lafayette Association of Film Students.