It seems that all of our students, once they graduate from Dodge College, go on to do amazing things in the industry. Take Kelly Galuska (BA/Screenwriting ’06) for example. As soon as she graduated, she moved to New York to begin her journey down her career path.

While there, she worked as a page at Late Night with David Letterman before moving over to MTV. As an executive assistant in Cable Sales, she worked for a VP who sold Viacom television networks to cable providers across the country.

“I started as a temp, just looking for a job, and wound up working there full time,” says Galuska.

After spending a year in New York, she moved back to Los Angeles to work at a talent agency in their TV talent department. She began getting jobs in writer’s rooms on TV shows, such as a writer’s PA, writer’s assistant, and show runners assistant for various shows.

Currently, Galuska is working on the NetFlix original series BoJack Horseman as a story editor for the show’s second season.

“I had worked on a show called Mom on CBS as a staff writer last year. My agent submitted my material, a pilot, to the creator of BoJack, and he responded to it,” says Galuska. “Our meeting went great, and he hired me!”

Galuska credits Dodge College for setting her down the path to TV writing to begin with.

“My goal was to become a screenwriter when I first came here,” Galuska explains. “I took a TV Writing class that completely changed my trajectory when I realized TV was perfect for me. It’s what I really wanted to do. I even took the class twice!”

Galuski loved learning how television writing worked. The collaborative nature of working together with other writers suited her want to be a part of a creative environment.

“Dodge also helped me get some great internships, where I gained valuable experience in entertainment before I even graduated,” she went on.

In addition to the classes, Galuski can’t say enough great things about her professors.

“It was in Scott Gorden’s class that I decided I wanted to write for television. He was a fantastic teacher, and a great gateway into TV,” Galuski explained. “Julie Bloomberg was another screenwriting professor I learned a lot from, like the basics of story and why it was important to really know your characters. But Jim Macak was the biggest influence in my career path. I learned all the knitty-gritty basics of what makes a great TV episode from him. Jim has been a major guide for me, and really made me feel like this was something I could do as a career.”

When asked for advice for current students looking to follow a similar career path, Galuski said, “Keep in touch with your peers – you’ll all grow up together in the industry, and it’s very comforting to know other people going through the same things you are.”

“Work hard, and don’t get discouraged…it takes time. Very few people get lucky right out of the gate and land their dream job. Don’t give up,” she continued.

And for the writers out there? “Most importantly, always be writing. There’s nothing worse than being offered an opportunity, and not having any current work to show a possible employer or connection. Writing is something you’ll get better at forever, so keep doing it!”