RGNN Alum Lela Jenkins Hired as Associate Video Producer at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City

What was your favorite part of the Internship & Mentoring Program at RGNN? 

When I applied to the Internship & Mentoring Program at RGNN, I was excited to get both real-world experience in digital media and journalism and a chance to put my Spanish minor to use. Though I was happy to have so many wonderful experiences to add to my resumé and portfolio, in the end what I cherished most were the people I met and the connections I made, from the other attendees to the madrileños I interviewed. The program introduced us to industry professionals whom I admire and follow to this day, such as Getty Images photographer Denis Doyle and RGNN International Programs Coordinator María Teresa San Segundo Gil. And of course, Madrid will always have a special place in my heart as one of my favorite cities!

From RGNN to the Metropolitan Museum, what a journey! How did your experience at RGNN prepare you for your current job as Associate Video Producer at such a prestigious museum? 

As an Associate Video Producer in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Digital Department, I produce videos that tell the stories of artists and artworks being exhibited at the Museum. It is a multidisciplinary role in which I have the freedom to create and learn anything and everything to do with multimedia production, including filming, editing, motion graphics, design, social media strategy, and web content management. Through it I have discovered my passion: creating at the intersection of art and technology, of digital media and video production in the arts.

Throughout the RGNN program, we were given opportunities to seek out and develop stories relevant to travelers in Madrid but also of personal significance to ourselves. I did not realize the trend at the time, but looking back, I realize many of my articles were centered around the arts (this may have something to do with being an Art History major). Writing about the art scene of Madrid, from El Rastro to El Prado, directly prepared me for developing stories for visitors to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now, I put myself in the audience’s shoes: What stories might a first-time visitor to The Met be interested in? How do we make this story accessible to a global audience? What kinds of lessons or untold histories might we learn from an artwork or artist?

Often I find that the questions I ask as an Associate Video Producer for The Metropolitan Museum of Art now are very similar to the ones I was asking throughout my time in the RGNN program.

If you had to single out one project, one highlight, you have worked on at the MET, what would it be?

Though the vast range of multimedia production projects and skills I have gained at The Met is hard to put into words, I would say that one of the most rewarding was directing a jib shoot and editing together the footage for a video welcoming Met employees. Throughout the process of collecting archival footage and producing it anew, I learned just how central all sorts of people are to maintaining arts institutions and allowing this art to continue to be shared with the world. It was a lovely reminder of why I do what I do, and how I may play a small part in uplifting the diverse voices of the art world.

Welcome to The Met video commissioned by the museum’s HR department, shot by Lela Jenkins | Video credit: Lela Jenkins

At the MET, you started out as a digital intern and have worked your way up to Associate Video Producer – and now even get to attend events such as The Met Gala! What advice do you have for students who want to turn an internship, at any company or institution, into a full-time position?

Turning an internship into a full-time position is always the best-case scenario for anyone starting out in their career. However, realistically, a lot of hiring is dependent on luck and timing. I feel incredibly fortunate that the timing worked out at The Met, but oftentimes this is not the case. The best an intern can do is hope for the best and expect the worse, and continue doing what landed them the internship in the first place––focus on improving and demonstrating your hard and soft skills, advocate for yourself and make your work visible, produce work that you can show off and speak to in a portfolio, and build on that unique point of view that only you can bring to the table.

Because museums have ASMR videos, too – Lela Jenkins produced this Noguchi video all by herself! | Video credit: Lela Jenkins for The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Before working at the MET, you also completed a global marketing design internship at Coca-Cola, another dream brand. What did your internship involve?

Shortly before my graduation from the University of Chicago in 2020, I was offered an internship with the Global Marketing Design team at The Coca-Cola Company. I was excited to be able to return home for the internship in Atlanta, Georgia, where the company headquarters is located. As it turns out, the internship would be completed entirely from home, as well all know most work turned remote at that time. Even so, I was able to meet and work with several incredible executives on Coca-Cola’s design team, including Senior Global Director of Design Joshua Schwarber and Global Vice President of Design Rapha Abreu. During my internship, I led a social media project and brand experience audit evaluating the perception and performance of Coca-Cola’s top brands, as well as which creative strategies most effectively engage social selling and e-commerce conversion. At the end of the internship, I presented my final capstone presentation with best practices and criteria for an updated social media playbook to the Global Marketing Digital and Design teams.

What advice do you have for other students who would like to intern at Coca-Cola? 

I was always in slight disbelief at my having interned at Coca-Cola, despite not being an MBA student or marketing major. However, as I learned from my manager Joshua Schwarber (who studied philosophy), it became clear to me that it was not being these things that actually made me stand out as an applicant.

My being an Art History major brought a unique point of view to the task at hand, which was analyzing why users felt more engaged and attracted to certain social media content and imagery than others, and brought me to perhaps less obvious conclusions than a marketing background alone might. So, more than qualifications alone, I think that any student who has something that can make them stand out from the applicant pool, be it their major or their hobbies, should emphasize that in their application.

And what advice do you have for students in general who would like to pursue a career in video production, a skill that is so in-demand these days?

My path to video production was very circuitous and not at all by design. In fact, I did not study cinema in school (despite it being a personal passion), as I knew I had no desire to end up on the West Coast. However, on the way I have learned that there are several different opportunities and applications for video production, from documentary filmmaking to commercial productions to social media.

The skills required [to work in video production at an institution like The Met] are by no means only available through school––one only has to pick up a camera (vintage, cheap, phone, or otherwise) and find what draws the eye.

Connect with Lela on LinkedIn, Instagram and visit her website at lelajenkins.com.

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