Internships Catapult Otis College Students Into Exciting Art and Design Careers

A majority of students who participate in internships are employed within three months of graduation.

Job preparedness is a cornerstone of an Otis College education. Readying students for the rigors of creative industries informs the College’s curriculum, as well as its robust internship programs. In addition to the annual Internship and Recruitment Day hosted by the Office of Career Services every March, several academic departments offer their own specialized internship events. The faculty also act as conduits, calling on their networks to source pre-professional opportunities for their students.

Based on a survey of Otis graduates from the class of 2023, 75% of students who had internships landed jobs within three months of graduation. 

Several Otis College students spent this past summer interning with companies that aligned with their major and professional interests, including Eli Henriksen (’26 Product Design) who worked as a product design intern at Meta; Avery Plummer (’26 Game and Entertainment Design) who was a 3D artist at RubyShark Games; and Maya Peats (’26 Fashion Design) who worked as a women’s design intern at PacSun. 

We caught up with Brooke Lovse (’26 Toy Design) and Eddie Borba (’26 Fashion Design), who shared their experiences working this summer at Jakks Pacific and Alo Yoga, respectively. 

Brooke Lovse: “The office is very different from the classroom.”

My internship was at Jakks Pacific in Santa Monica, California. They are a smaller toy company but still very prominent in the market, making toys for big brands like Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario Bros., Bendy and the Ink Machine, and Disney. I worked for the Disney ily 4EVER brand and designed a few dolls and playsets, but mostly I was doing control art, color callouts, and graphics. 

I heard about the internship through my Toy Design program. Assistant Chair Joyce Mesch, who runs Toy Design’s internship fair, was the reason I got this opportunity. She did a lot of work reaching out to companies, setting up interviews, and communicating with them about who they were interested in.

Drawing and model-making classes at Otis taught me how to do control art for a toy concept. This skill was used a lot during my internship because every accessory needs a front, back, and side view to send to manufacturers in China. When I was a junior I had an option to take a doll-making class, where I designed a doll line and took it from concept to prototype. That class gave a good overview of the process of designing dolls, so I had a good foundation of how fashion doll lines work when I was working on the ily 4EVER line.

Now that I have worked at a toy company and made a good impression, I have connections in the industry. The team I worked for said they really liked me and would even be interested in hiring me after graduation. It was really beneficial to have a positive office experience—I got a great understanding of how a toy company works and what is expected of me, and now I know what to expect for future jobs.

For students looking for internships, my advice is to be open to new learning experiences. The office is very different from the classroom. Also, when you’re in your first internship, always say yes to new opportunities. Be proactive: If you’ve finished all your work for the day, ask if there is anything more that you can help with. Lastly, just enjoy it. It can be scary and intimidating going from art school to industry, but it is so rewarding to learn how your art and design skills help make products.

Eddie Borba: “This silenced any doubts I had about whether I could really do fashion design as a career.”

I was a menswear design intern at Alo Yoga in Beverly Hills, California. I got the opportunity at the Fashion Design program’s internship fair thanks to Chair Jill Zeleznik, Assistant Chair Mitra Rajabi, Administrative Manager Diana Flores, and Office Manager Byron LiCausi, as well as many of my design teachers who helped coordinate the internship fair. It allowed me an opportunity to interview with a lot of great companies. 

I also was the recipient of a Joe’s Blackbook Scholarship. While in New York for a scholarship event, I was able to speak with representatives from Alo Yoga, which helped secure the internship.

The internship put the skills I learned at Otis to the test. I was able to use my design skills in many ways, from Adobe design programs to fashion illustration. The rigor of my major allowed me to keep up with the pace of the office while not feeling too overwhelmed.

Alo Yoga allowed me to have my first experience in the industry. This silenced any doubts I had about whether I could really do fashion design as a career. It gave me a sense of confidence in myself and my work that I will be able to take forward into the  future.

Maintaining clear lines of communication was something important that I had to focus on while working at Alo Yoga. So much goes on in one day, so if you’re not constantly keeping people updated, a team cannot run smoothly.

My advice to students seeking internships is to interview, interview, interview. The more comfortable you get discussing your work, your strengths, and what you stand for as a designer, the more attractive you will seem to the company. If you are offered an interview opportunity, always take it, even though you might be unsure about the job and not end up accepting an offer, or even moving through the rounds—that first interview and its discomfort will help you for every other one in the future.

More information about Careers and Outcomes at Otis College. 

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