Schools

Avon High School Graduate Colin Smith Earns Olympic Internship with NBC Sports

The following press release was prepared by readMedia.

Submitted release

Avon High School graduate Colin Smith has been selected by NBC Sports to assist with the network's coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, being held Feb. 6-23 in Sochi, Russia. Smith is a senior majoring in television-radio in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College.

A total of 34 students from the Park School will be serving essential behind-the-scenes roles at the world's biggest athletic event. Ithaca joins Syracuse University and Bradley University as the only institutions nationwide with which NBC Sports partners to recruit interns for its Olympics coverage.

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For a photo of Smith, visit www.flickr.com/photos/69539023@N07/11823170326/.

"The fact that NBC has recruited our students for every Olympics since 2006 is yet another affirmation of the quality of their educational experience and how well it prepares them for the professional world," said Diane Gayeski, dean of the Park School. "In fact, this has been a banner year for us -- from being ranked among the nation's top 25 film schools by the 'Hollywood Reporter' and top 20 journalism programs by 'NewsPro' magazine, to WICB-FM being named the best college radio station by Princeton Review and 'The Ithacan' earning the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's top award for integrated print and online publications. We take pride in having these 34 students put their knowledge into action working side-by-side with the top sports journalists, producers and technicians in the world."

Find out what's happening in Avonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

25 of the students will serve their intern assignments in or around Sochi, a resort city located on the Black Sea. The remaining nine will be based at the NBC Sports broadcast and production facility in Stamford, Connecticut. Intern duties will range from handling specific events -- including ice hockey, figure skating and freestyle skiing -- to working in the International Broadcast Center or what's known as the Highlights Factory, which the network developed to package and distribute coverage through multiple media platforms.

"I am going to be a production assistant while in Sochi. I got to work for the London Olympics at the NBC office in New York City, and this time I get to travel to Russia, somewhere I've never been. As a PA you have the most hands-on experience with the events, so I think that is the coolest job," Smith said.

Ithaca College students have previously interned at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.

For more information, contact Melissa Gattine, marketing communications manager in the Park School, at (607) 274-1023 or mgattine@ithaca.edu.

From day one, Ithaca College prepares students for success through hands-on experience with internships, research and study abroad. Its integrative curriculum builds bridges across disciplines and uniquely blends liberal arts and professional study. Located in New York's Finger Lakes region, the College is home to 6,100 undergraduate and 400 graduate students.


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