Photo Caption: Tyra Prude – Entertainment News intern at Extra TV – from Tennessee State University.

The Emmy race is in full swing, but the Television Academy Foundation has already selected 52 college students to participate in its 2017 Summer Internship Program.

Fundamental to the Foundation’s goals are identifying, educating and empowering an inclusive and diverse group of future television leaders—and it delivered tangible results. Of the total number of students participating in this year’s Summer Internship Program 73% are female and 45% are nonwhite.

The Foundation provides 52 internships in over 30 entertainment professions to college students nationwide. Categories available to students range from scriptwriting to directing, editing to digital entertainment, animation to news, and much more.

The program gives both undergraduate and graduate students in-depth and hands-on experience in professional television production during an eight-week, paid summer internship in Los Angeles, CA. It also provides valuable access to industry networking and employment opportunities.

Finalists were chosen by Television Academy members prior to interviewing for internship placement with host companies, which include DreamWorks Animation, ShondaLand, Nickelodeon, Bunim-Murray Productions, and Disney/ABC.

This year’s interns participated in the Foundation’s annual “Intern Professional Development Day” on July 19, at the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center in North Hollywood. The event featured discussions with Kevin Wandell, vice president of development for FX, several Television Academy Foundation intern alumni; two-time Emmy-nominee producer Robert Del Valle; and Celeste Gehring, former vice president of operations and field production for FOX.

The Summer Internship Program culminates with the Foundation’s annual “Summer Networking Soiree” on August 3, where this year’s intern class will come together to network with members of the Television Academy, the Television Academy Foundation board of directors, and Foundation alumni.

About the Television Academy Foundation

Established in 1959 as the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the Television Academy Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of television while educating and inspiring those who will shape its future. Through renowned educational and outreach programs such as the The Interviews: An Oral History Project of the Television Academy Foundation, College Television Awards and Student Internship Program, the Foundation seeks to widen the circle of voices our industry represents and to create more opportunity for television to reflect all of society. For more information on the Foundation, please visit TelevisionAcademy.com/Foundation.