For three months I worked in Will Smith’s office at Overbrook Entertainment as a creative development intern. Over the course of this internship I learned so much more than any traditional classroom experience could have provided. From living in a completely new place to feeling like a part of the professional workforce, I gained a great deal of knowledge and perspective.

Los Angeles is a place full of ambitious and hardworking people all going after the same positions. Although this reality may seem daunting, I found the challenge invigorating. Being around such an eclectic mix of nationalities, backgrounds and goals was also so refreshing. The conversations I enjoyed ranged from an Iraqi Uber driver’s journey to America, a famous director’s insight into the film industry, an environmental lawyer’s travels around the world and many more.

Furthermore, over the last few weeks of my internship I spoke with some of the strongest and most powerful women, all holding important leadership positions in different fields. These women were such inspirations to me because they not only had a job in which they were passionate and motivated, but many were also mothers with a central role in their households.

During my time at Sony, I enjoyed the opportunities for growth in my entertainment industry knowledge. One day, the interns participated in a Sony lot tour and visited studios such as Jeopardy and The Wheel of Fortune. We were lucky enough to enter the Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage where countless soundtracks have been recorded (The Wizard of Oz, Toy Story, Star Trek) as well as many of Streisand’s own albums. On another day, I met the producer of The Goldbergs and got an impromptu tour of the TV series set.

Our internship class was also the first class to embark on a project that would allow us to apply many of the skills we had learned throughout the summer. This project case study gave us real life experience in developing a script, attaching writers, directors and actors and subsequently pitching the final product to a room of executives. Before the end of my internship, I also made a point to set up meetings with the various Overbrook Entertainment executives. These conversations proved enlightening and I gained further insight into the film industry.

The Sony Pictures lot is also home to the former MGM studios and the filming for The Wizard of Oz. To commemorate this historically famous film, the city unveiled a 94-foot-tall rainbow in 2012. Not many people can say they spent three months working underneath a rainbow, but I feel it encapsulates my summer in that it was a dream come true.

While at Overbrook Entertainment I made friendships and connections with my fellow employees that I know will last far longer than the joy I got from getting waved at by Queen Latifah or hearing that Justin Timberlake had been at the studio’s frozen yogurt shop that day. As much fun as the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the entertainment industry may be, it is truly the people I will miss most of all. My fellow interns, the creative executive team, the assistants and cooks at the commissary… these relationships are what I will take with me far past this summer.

View all of the students blogging as part of the Ohio State School of Communication Summer Internship Series.