Meeting Steve Carell (Another Day on the Job)

By Mollie Berg ‘16

Today at work, I met Steve Carell. He just came right up to me and said, “Hi, I’m Steve.” Duh, I know you are Steve. Like clearly…who else would you be? I’ve seen you in Little Miss Sunshine, The Office, Crazy, Stupid Love…and much, much more. Also, it shouldn’t be too surprising that he popped into the office; after all, Carousel Productions is his production company—and I do spend four days a week there buying time and reading scripts.

I’ve met “famous” people plenty of times before—mostly at signings and autograph events. However, in the cases of signings, the celebrity is on the other side of a table, with their bodyguard and personal assistant, and maybe, just maybe they will look up at you when they sign their generic and over-done signature.

However, this “celebrity”—good ole’ Steve, whom I have seen on TV hundreds of times—shockingly seemed 100 percent normal, nice and genuine. It was like a regular office head walked by and introduced himself to all the interns. Calm, cool and collected. So here is lookin’ at you, Steve! Good job! You have Mollie Berg’s approval (I know you have been waiting for it, clearly).

After my amazing workday, I went to College of the Canyons, where I registered for summer class so I could get credit for said internship. I have to do three simple assignments to ensure that my credit goes through and I don’t get booted from Carousel. One of the assignments, asks me to interview someone above me in the company, and ask him/her 15 questions about their job, how they got to where they are, and their advice for youngsters like me. At first, this task, among the others I must complete to get my one credit, seemed ridiculous, meaningless and unnecessary. However, after I thought about possibly interviewing one of the presidents of Carousel, I got really excited.

At that moment, in this classroom, I realized the point of my internship. I’m actually learning—and seeing what kind of things I might possibly want to do when I “grow up.” I am able to see the day-to-day business of a production company and how the whole system operates. It is so exciting, yet so terrifying, because I want so badly to one day be part of the film process myself. Moreover, the excitement of talking to someone who WENT through the process and succeeded is the most valid of learning experiences and is so empowering.

So whether it is interviewing Charlie Hartsock, Vance DeGeneres, or simply shaking my new buddy Steve’s hand, I can hear my future calling!