Any fans of the hit NBC show 30 Rock out there? If so, you are familiar with the NBC Page program, or at least 30 Rock‘s version of it. Kenneth used to be who I thought of when I thought of NBC’s Page program. But not anymore! Why? Because our very own 2009 Communication Studies graduate, Jack Skovgard, is working in LA as an NBC Page! And his job is nothing like Kenneth’s! Read on…
The first thing you need to know about Jack’s position is that the NBC Universal Page program is highly competitive. The acceptance rate is 1% (compare that with Harvard’s 7%, just to give you some perspective)! It took Jack nine months to get the offical word that he made it into the program, and from what he tells me, it was worth the wait! Jack has worked as an assistant to Jeff Gaspin, the Chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, and he currently assists the Senior Vice President of Comedy Development. According to Jack, “The perks are probably the best part of the job. I get to read the story ideas, outlines, and script drafts of all the projects that we are developing and then I am able to interact with the executives regarding my opinion on the material, as well as listen to the calls between our execs and the writers/production companies when we give notes to help shape their idea and bring it to life at its best potential. I am also able to do this with a lot of our current shows (e.g., Community, The Office, 30 Rock, Parenthood, Chase, etc). With the current shows we get daily video cuts of filming, as well as well as full episode rough drafts, so it is amazing to see the shows develop from bare minimum to picture perfect final drafts. There is always something going on or new material coming in, so I think it is safe to say that I am addicted to the fast paced environment!”
I chose to profile Jack for this Alumni Spotlight because working at NBC was Jack’s goal when he was a student here. What is great about Jack’s story is that he worked really hard to get this position. While he was waiting to hear from the Page program he worked two internships and a night job and continually networked with people to try to get into the program, which shows that persistance can pay off. Jack also shared a great story with me about how he walked into one of the other employee’s offices on the lot (sorry, I have to take a moment… how cool is it that Jack works on a TV lot?) and this other employee had a USF diploma hanging on his wall. Moral: You never know where you will find a USF alum!
Don’t worry… I’m one step ahead of you: I have already communicated to Jack how incredibly important it is that Parenthood remain on air (I love that show!). Congratulations, Jack, on all of your success!
Jack Skovgard, NBC Page and '09 Grad
