Penn State student combines film and IST majors at summer internship

Editor's note: This is the second in series of stories about Bellisario College students completing summer internships.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When double majoring, it’s not easy to find an internship that fits both majors — especially when they’re as different as film production and information sciences and technology. Penn State senior Shreya Narsinghani found one this summer just a short bike ride away.

Narsinghani is interning at Minitab, a software company located in State College, Pennsylvania. She saw the job posting while riding the bus back to campus after spring break. The opening was for a multimedia intern with skills in photography, videography and graphic design. Because it’s a software company, the job description listed coding, UX design and SharePoint intranet as preferred skills.

“I’m thinking,” Narsinghani said, “This sounds like it was made for me.”

She applied right then and there on the bus. By the end of the month, she was on a Teams call with representatives from Minitab. The interview was scheduled for when Narsinghani was in New York City for the Bellisario College’s Success in the City job fair. When it was time for the interview, she snuck away from the fair and found an empty conference room.

“We talked for about 30 minutes and then I went back out to the career fair and kept meeting with the other companies,” she said with a laugh. A few days later, she got an offer.

Little did Narsinghani know that within 15 minutes of receiving that offer, she’d receive an offer for a different summer internship at a media company in California. It was a difficult decision, but Minitab was the choice.

“I wanted to use both majors and Minitab offered a one-on-one mentorship experience,” she said. “They wanted me to make things like an SNL-themed news show and tour video for the internal communications department … That's totally up my alley.”

The fact that Minitab is a global company that is a 30-minute bike ride away from the University Park campus made it especially appealing. Narsinghani started on May 6, and she rides to work every day. So far, she has enjoyed pairing her creativity with the more technical parts of the job.

“I get to meet so many people through both aspects of my majors because communications deals with every single department,” she said. “I’ve already been learning so much about Photoshop and tech stuff. It’s been a blast.”

‘Smelling sawdust’

Growing up in South Brunswick, New Jersey, Narsinghani’s first foray into cinema and theater was being cast as a grandmother in her fifth-grade school play.

“It was really fun, because every time I would bow, my wig would fall off and the whole crowd laughed,” she said. “And I got to do all of these funny jokes.”

She liked acting, but the activity behind the curtain is what really called to her. She continued theater and acting through high school with a focus on lighting, sound and other stage crew activities.

“It sounds strange, but I like the dark,” Narsinghani said. “I like smelling sawdust and crawling around behind the scenes.”

It literally set the stage for a lifelong interest in film development, production and screenwriting. In 2021, Narsinghani said “action” on a student experience at the Bellisario College. Three years later, she has not said “cut.” Like, at all.

Here are some of the activities Narsinghani is part of at Penn State. Remember, she’s a double major — and she’s minoring in Spanish too:

She is vice president of the Three Broomsticks, a "Harry Potter" fan club. She started a club for fans of the "Percy Jackson" books. She is part of Penn State’s Student Film Organization and served on the design and planning committees for the Centre Film Festival. She is a director of a student-run talk show called “Nittany Talk,” and she is on the Penn State Equestrian and Quidditch teams. She participated in 46Live at THON and has worked on student films like “Frail Grounds,” “Playing God,” and her own documentary, “Goodnight, Carnegie 113,” which she worked on with a friend. In the spring of 2023, she studied abroad in Spain. 

And there’s more.

A ‘Rey’ of sunshine

One of Narsinghani’s favorite activities at Penn State is working on video production for CommAgency, a student-run organization within the Bellisario College. CommAgency provides a variety of media content for real-world clients. In the fall, Narsinghani’s CommAgency team earned a silver Telly Award for the Learning Factory “Time Machine” video and a bronze Telly Award for a video created for Penn State’s Division of Undergraduate Studies.

“I get paid to make videos with other filmmakers,” Narsinghani said. “We get to work on our professionalism and keep a professional standard. It’s a lot of communications and film majors, so we hang out in our downtime too. We even help each other with classes. It’s a community.”

She also serves as CommAgency’s new member executive, a position that CommAgency director Catie Grant said was a “no brainer” for Narsinghani.

“Rey is not only incredibly talented and a great team member, but she's always smiling and always in a great mood,” Grant said. “She really puts people at ease and gets people excited and out of their shells. She's just a big ray of sunshine.”

Narsinghani interviews interested students and trains them when they join. She makes themed presentations every week assigning students a role from movies like "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" or "Kung Fu Panda."

“The character is based off what I think the student’s personality is and which one they would be,” she said. “It’s a lot of community building and networking … and it's one of my favorite things.”

When it comes to CommAgency, Grant says Narsinghani is the ideal student. She is never afraid to ask questions. She is willing to try new things and she is often first to volunteer.

“Rey is always up for any kind of challenge,” Grant said. “We always tell people that at CommAgency, you get what you put in and Rey is really one of those students that takes every opportunity … and gives it her all.”

For her final act at Penn State, there’s a twist: Narsinghani wants to slow down a little and enjoy Happy Valley, she said. After that, she dreams of working at "Saturday Night Live" or "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." She also hopes to continue working on films in any capacity.

“I really want to hike Mount Nittany and visit every building on campus before I leave,” she said. “Just enjoy college and find some time for myself because I think I've always been go go go. I am going to enjoy spending time with friends or just walking around campus.”