Winona Senior High School Alum Selected For Television Academy Foundation Internship In Hollywood

Winona Senior High School alumna Nicole Spartz has been selected for the prestigious Television Academy Foundation Internship program. She is one of 40 students chosen by Television Academy members from across the country for the 2026 Summer Internship program. The Foundation offers paid internships at top Hollywood studios and production companies annually to college students nationwide.

Spartz is a rising senior at DePaul University in Chicago majoring in animation. She will be an intern this summer in the visual effects department at Barnstorm VFX in Burbank, California, through the Foundation’s program.

“I'm excited to meet new people and work within the industry,” said Spartz. “The biggest reason I applied was so that I could meet with professionals and gain experience to take with me throughout my career. So I'm very excited to have this opportunity.

“I enjoy watching TV and getting invested in the plot, characters and story,” said Spartz. “I like to look up some of the behind-the-scenes videos and learn how the show used VFX to tell the story and immerse the viewer. When I got to college, I realized I wanted to be a part of that and help tell future stories.”

Spartz is originally from Winona, Minnesota.

The Television Academy Foundation shapes the art of creating television by engaging and educating the next generation of television professionals, providing essential resources that help them discover their voices, refine their skills and forge rewarding careers in every sector of the television industry. The Internship program provides over 50 students from across the nation with hands-on work experience and networking opportunities for accelerated career development in more than 30 disciplines annually.