After their freshman year of college, most students spend the summer months working mundane jobs and taking breaks at the beach or by the pool.
Sophomore Jasmien Vancollie's last summer, however, was a bit more unique. Vancollie applied for and won a contest to "Become a Hollywood Insider," sponsored by the People's Choice Awards (PCA) and the United Talent Agency (UTA), that offered as its prize the opportunity to spend a week in Los Angles, CA. getting an inside perspective on the entertainment industry.
Vancollie grew up in Belgium and Massachusetts and had never been to L.A. before this summer. She became interested in drama as a teenager, and acted in her high school's productions of "The Snow Queen" and "The Wizard of Oz." She discovered the contest, which was based on film submissions, last year through Tufts Career Services.
"Last year I started going to Career Services regularly and they emphasized the importance of getting started early, and how if you want to end up in the entertainment industry, you really have to make connections as soon as you can," Vancollie said. "So I figured, why not start now, and so I read about the experience through the e-mails Career Services sent out."
The opportunity was advertised by a blurb that read, "HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO THRIVE IN HOLLYWOOD? PROVE IT!" It offered the winner an all-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood, the chance to meet top agents, a visit to a top TV series and a "crash course in how TV and movie deals get made," Vancollie said.
When she applied, Vancollie didn't think she had a chance of winning.
"I looked it up and it was only one person [who won], so I entered it never actually thinking I'd get anywhere with it, but I'd be really mad if I didn't at least try, so I entered and I was a finalist, and it just worked out," Vancollie explained.
The contest judged applicants by 30-second film clips explaining why they were the best person to win. Each contestant was responsible for filming and submitting his or her own clip.
"I came up with the concept of saying I'm driven, and that I'd say it while running on a treadmill, and it worked, and then I became one of three finalists," Vancollie said.
After Vancollie was selected as a finalist, her video was uploaded to the official People's Choice Awards Web site, where the general public was able to vote on it. Because her video received the most votes, Vancollie was named the winner.
At the end of July, Vancollie flew to L.A. for her exciting week. Courtesy of the PCA & UTA, Vancollie stayed at a chic boutique hotel called the Thompson Hotel. The hotel held roof parties almost every night, which were attended by writers and producers.
Vancollie was able to take advantage of exclusive opportunities throughout the week.
"[I went] on the set of ‘Greek,' which was really, really cool. I got to meet some of the actors there. And Warner Brother Studios — I did the tour there, and also just some meetings with some important agents, and just kind of seeing how that worked," Vancollie said.
As well as exploring the production aspects of the entertainment industry, Vancollie was also able to test out its publicity side.
"I went to a TAG [body spray] party … [and] Ludacris was sponsoring it, so I got to pose on the red carpet with Ludacris and Carmelo Anthony," Vancollie said. "I got to meet a lot of celebrities at that party. I got to hug Ryan Phillippe and pose with Denise Richards."
While in L.A., Vancollie also attended the L.A. premiere of "Julie and Julia," a movie about Julie Child and a present-day woman who prepares one of Child's recipes each day for a year.
"Meryl Streep and Amy Adams were in the audience, so I got to see the movie with them. Ashley Greene, who plays Alice Cullen [in ‘Twilight'], was also in the audience. I didn't realize it at first and only when she was leaving, I saw her face," Vancollie said.
Vancollie's experience in L.A. imprinted upon her the importance of following her dreams no matter the obstacles in her way.
"I started off [at Tufts] as an engineer and hated it — I was like, I need to follow my passion, so now I'm psych and drama and it's so much better," Vancollie said. "You have to find your niche, because there's all these different career paths that you can choose, and it's basically just finding out what inspires you and just working to get there."
Despite her optimism, Vancollie remains realistic. Her trip to Hollywood gave her a feel for how elusive success can be in the world of the silver screen. Though she concedes that the industry is fraught with possibilities of rejection, her experience taught her that success is not impossible.
"Sometimes trying out for things does pay off. You can get so many rejections, but the times you make it — that's when you realize that it was all worth it," she said.
Vancollie's success has inspired her to explore more acting outlets.
"This whole experience made me realize that you really have to try out for things, so I am now on a Studio T [the Tufts TV station] TV show," she said. Vancollie plays a Tufts student named Hannah in the student-directed Web series called "In Motion" that will premiere on Studio T and Youtube.com on Nov. 11. She is also working for the wardrobe department of the drama department's production "Kiss Me Kate" which opens this Thursday.
Vancollie hopes that her experiences at Tufts and her trip to L.A. will give her the upper hand in this highly competitive industry.
"Next summer I'm hoping to go back to UTA, now that I've made those connections, and try and get an internship there, because I really want to follow my dream of being in the entertainment industry," she said.
