Brennan Takes New York

PAHS+graduate+Colleen+Brennan+poses+with+Ed+Sheeran.+

Courtesy of Colleen Brennan

PAHS graduate Colleen Brennan poses with Ed Sheeran.

On Tuesday February 26, Colleen Brennan, a 2013 graduate of PAHS, came to visit and give a presentation to Publications students about her career path. She presented information about her high school and college involvement as well as her internships. After college, she had multiple jobs leading to her to her current job as an assistant media technician for Bleacher Report.

During her time at PAHS, Brennan was a part of the water polo and swim teams. She was also a part of marching and pep band, Third Brigade band, Publications and French Club. She knew that when she graduated high school, she wanted to attend a college where she could get more involved and stay active in sports and music.

Colleen’s college search led her to Penn State University. At University Park, she was involved with the Marching Blue Band and pep band. She started in the business college, but after switching her major several times, Brennan settled on Telecommunications because there was, “something exciting about creating a video and seeing the process from start to finish.”

“I couldn’t picture myself working in a cubicle every day, so I started asking myself what would make me happy,” Brennan said. “I loved watching television and the news as a kid. I always had an interest and questioned how it was done. It was just a matter of realizing it, and I made a carer out of it.”

Colleen had done some writing before, but she didn’t start to like video production until she took a communications class in college. Her internships in college all dealt with video production. Brennan interned in video production at C-NET Centre County and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, Premier PR and she was an editorial intern at CIRCA.

When interning at CIRCA, Colleen worked on one of her bigger projects organized by Warner Music Studio which was In Bed With Ed. This project followed Ed Sheeran around a children’s hospital where he sang hits such as Castle on the Hill and Shape of You to hospitalized children. Brennan even got to snap a picture with the superstar.

During her college career, Brennan studied abroad in England through a partnership between Penn State and Arcadia University. She also studied for a semester in New York City. Her life after college led her back to the Big Apple. After graduation, Colleen become the digital ad operations associate at Group M before taking her current position at Bleacher Report. Brennan has done work at the NFL and NBA drafts.

When presenting to the publications group, Brennan said, “be true to yourself. If you genuinely have a passion for something don’t be afraid to pursue it. Be honest with yourself.”