From Viral Videos to Full-Time Job: How One CJC Student’s Ambition and Fortitude Led to a Job at TikTok

By Michelle Holder, B.S. Journalism 2022

Jennifer Lena, senior Media Production, Management, and Technology (MPMT) major, was eager to get involved with the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) and took advantage of every opportunity that came her way.

With a passion for film and television, Lena, who joined UF as a PaCE student,  wanted to learn everything she could when she first came to UF. Seeking a major that combined both business and communications, Lena decided to pursue an MPMT degree.

“I was always fueled by what jobs I would be able to get when I graduated and what would give me the most opportunity,” Lena said. “It was a no-brainer for me because it was everything I wanted; It was media production and management, and it was the best of both worlds.”

In addition to excelling in the classroom, she sought extracurricular activities that would help her hone her professional and leadership skills. She was an on-air personality with student-run GHQ, participated in the UF Alumni Association’s Florida Cicerones, was president of UFCJC’s Journalism College Ambassadors (JCA), and represented the College on the UF Student Advisory Council for Undergraduate Affairs.

Lena also served as a research assistant for Advertising Associate Professor Benjamin Johnson’s advanced advertising research project “Production Quality and the Authenticity of Brand-Related Posts on Instagram and TikTok.”

During Lena’s sophomore year, her personal TikTok account started gaining traction after posting content about Tinder, the online dating app. Her videos garnered millions of views. Tinder asked her to collaborate and make content for their social channels, and a podcast from Glass Entertainment Group, a full-service production company, called the Dating Diaries Podcast asked her to be a guest.

Fascinated by the work the podcast producers were doing, Lena started asking questions about their roles and how the project came out. She applied to be an intern at Glass Entertainment Group and started her remote production internship in the summer of 2021, while also working in the College’s PATH office.

Lena expanded her skills with international opportunities when she studied abroad in London her junior spring semester and completed an internship with Particle 6 Production, a full-service, multi award-winning production company. She helped create content for clients such as the BBC.

In the summer of 2022, Lena applied for some 30 internships. She successfully secured a spot as a Global Business Solutions sales intern at TikTok. In her role, she completed brand audits, created pitch decks and made creative content.

As her internship was coming to an end, Lena convinced her manager at TikTok to allow her to stay longer. With the help of her mentor from her Glass Entertainment internship, she was able to spend a week in New York City to complete work for TikTok. Lena then successfully secured another three months of the internship to continue working on projects while she started her senior year.

When she tried to extend the internship for a second time, she was then offered a full-time role as a sales coordinator after graduation.

“Good things take time, and you just have to keep pushing forward,” Lena shared.

Her hard work and dedication in and out of the College came to fruition when she was nominated for two awards at the UFCJC Awards Banquet: the Major Garland Powell Award for Outstanding Contribution in Radio and Television and the F. Leslie Smith Management Award.

“It felt really good to know that someone felt passionately enough to advocate for me to get it,” she said. “Something that’s important in life is to put yourself out there for people to be in your corner.”

As a first-generation college student, Lena said she leaned on teachers and the academic community at CJC.

“CJC is a community that celebrates each other…because we all know the value of having other people at the table,” Lena shared. “I feel like everybody really helps lift each other up and celebrate each other’s wins.”

Posted: May 4, 2023
Category: College News, Profiles
Tagged as: JCA, Jennifer Lena, TikTok