My First Job: A Solid Plan
Inside 30 Rock
For Lauren Presley (B’23), a day in the office begins like most: completing administrative work and attending meetings. But her day becomes anything but typical once she steps into the famed studio inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
“This was always my dream, to work on shows and to work in live TV,” Presley said. “There’s nothing like it – working all day towards something and then actually seeing it happen that night.”
Presley began her professional career in the rotational Page Program at NBCUniversal in New York City, where she most recently supported beloved shows like The Tonight Show and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Presley’s path to 30 Rock may be unconventional for those in the entertainment industry.
She studied international political economy and business at Georgetown McDonough, with a minor in film and media studies. Initially, Presley wanted to go into consulting. But it was her professors at Georgetown McDonough, like Michael O’Leary and George Comer, who encouraged her to follow a dream she always had inside of her.
“What a lot of my professors told me is ‘if this year doesn’t go well, you still have the rest of your 20s to figure out what to do after,’” Presley said. “It was really scary to do something new, but it ended up being one of the best decisions of my life.”
Through the support of the McDonough Career Center, alumni connections, and the Georgetown Scholars Program, Presley began her journey with NBCUniversal in September 2023 and has moved through various departments at the network from The Kelly Clarkson Show to SNL and the TODAY Show.
“I think Georgetown did an amazing job of teaching me how to network,” she said. “It’s important to be active with your networking because, especially in entertainment, your next referral comes from people who know you and people who believe in you. Your reputation does matter in that way.”
While Presley may not be using technical business skills in her first job, she still relies on her business education and credits her experiences at McDonough for equipping her with confidence and presentation skills.
“No one really asked me why I wanted to do art and entertainment because I went to business school,” Presley said. “It never hindered me. It’s only helped me.”
Presley applied to hundreds of jobs and heard back from just a few before landing the one. She encourages first job-seekers to be vulnerable about their ambitions, take calculated risks, and keep believing in themselves.
This story was originally featured in the Georgetown Business Spring 2025 Magazine. Download the Georgetown Business Audio app to listen to the stories and other bonus content.