Summer Internship Reflections: Ejun Hong

Our Arts Career Connections initiative helped four Penn students pursue internships in the arts and entertainment field this summer. As these opportunities conclude, we were excited to hear this reflection from Ejun Hong, who spent time with Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco and All Ages Productions in Philadelphia:

During the first half of my summer, I worked as a Studio & Education intern at the Walt Disney Family Museum (WDFM). In this role, I was actively engaged in producing posters, storyboards and animatics for the upcoming animation film festival. I also assisted in animation summer classes and collaborated on projects with the WDFM Education Studio team. This experience allowed me to delve deeper into my passion for animation and education, and I genuinely treasured my time at the museum. Forming relationships with supportive, kind and talented individuals was the highlight of my time there. I am sincerely grateful to the WDFM team members as well as my fellow interns. My time at WDFM was truly a dream come true and made me fall in love with San Francisco.

After concluding my work at the Walt Disney Family Museum, I returned to Philadelphia and began my role as an FX intern at All Ages Productions (AAP). During this internship, I actively participated in production meetings and contributed creatively and practically across pre-production, production, post-production, FX and animation processes in various projects. This experience allowed me to further explore my passion for integrating live-action and animation production. One of the most memorable moments was on a production set where I assisted the producer, PA and FX supervisor. This allowed me to interact with individuals deeply passionate about filmmaking and gain invaluable insights into production aspects. Moreover, my time at AAP emphasized the significance of teamwork in the film industry. I am deeply thankful to my AAP colleagues for their unwavering support and guidance.

This summer has proven to be invaluable, offering me the chance to explore diverse areas of interest: animation, education, design and live-action production. It has undoubtedly bolstered my confidence in pursuing a career in the animation and film industry. Armed with the experiences and knowledge gained during my summer 2023 internships, I am eager to fulfill my goal of launching a project this fall that imparts animation production skills to underprivileged students in West Philadelphia. Furthermore, I aim to continue producing animated films that leave a lasting impact on society. My heartfelt gratitude extends to Penn Live Arts, RealArts@Penn, Walt Disney Family Museum, All Ages Productions and my family, all of whom made this journey possible and have supported my evolution as a passionate animator and filmmaker, storyteller, traveler, artist, compassionate leader and adventurous dreamer who shares dreams and hope through artwork.