Opportunity of a lifetime: UGA student interns for Paris Olympics coverage

University of Georgia student Niara Thompson enjoyed a 2024 summer to remember. The 4th year film studies major worked at NBC Sports as a Digital Streaming Operations Intern for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

From broadcast testing and execution for all Olympic events appearing on the Peacock and NBC OneApp platforms to quality control checks on customer devices, Thompson learned the ins-and-outs of a tight schedule where for 24 hours of the day some set of eyes had to be ‘on glass’ to make sure that events ran as smoothly as possible. 

Based in Stamford, Connecticut at the NBC Sports campus, Thompson was at once far from the action and right in the middle of the work behind how a major conglomerate delivers the action of dramatic events across the globe.

"Fortunately, I was given the morning shift and even though I was located in Connecticut, I was lucky enough to work on the Primetime slot for the Paris time zone when most of the high energy events were happening," Thompson said.

A Franklin College student and Entertainment and Media Studies major in the Grady College, Thompson shares that she had been grappling with a big question about her own future career plans: film or TV? The eye-opening experiences of working in live television and especially the world of sports in the context of streaming presented a unique perspective.

"This experience has really changed my perspective on the entertainment industry as a whole," she said. "The fact that there are so many like-minded people who actually enjoy doing the job and enjoy participating in historical moments just makes my dreams become more vivid and attainable in my mind. The best part of this whole journey for me was that, not only did I get the privilege of working on an event that impacts the world, but I got to have a front seat to watch people from around the world's dreams come true while I was accomplishing mine!"

Images: Niara Thompson