Ella Pascua, a second-year student at California Lutheran University, attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Feb. 27 through her internship with Warner Media. Pascua is majoring in communication with an emphasis in film and television production. Pascua grew up in Hollister, California and has always known she wanted to go into the film industry.

“Once I started high school, I knew I wanted to go into the entertainment industry just because of how I resonated with a lot of stories that were on television that pertained to women of color,” Pascua said.

During her high school years, Pascua was a part of the Associated Student Body. She said she believes those four years were helpful in understanding what she wanted to do with her life.

“Ever since sixth grade I’ve always been involved in leadership and I think being a leader has always been innate to me, that’s always something I’ve enjoyed and that translated well to the experiences I wanted to do like going into the entertainment industry,” Pascua said.

Student Activity Director of San Benito High School Catalina Lemos, met Pascua when she was in sixth grade and joined ASB. Lemos said that she remembers being impressed by her assertiveness and organizational skills. 

“I knew she was going to do great things, she had that sparkle in her eyes since she was a young girl,” Lemos said.

Pascua credits Lemos as being someone who was pivotal in her high school career, who helped her grow and become her own person. 

Another individual who Pascua believes helped her get to where she is today is Professor Aaron Heresco. Pascua said that he helped her understand the world of media and how the industry works.

Heresco teaches Introduction to Communications at Cal Lutheran and had Pascua in his class in 2021.

“One of the first things I remember about Ella was that she was always excited to participate in class and ask questions and it made the class more fun to have that type of conversation,” Heresco said. 

Pascua believes that these two people have had a large impact on her life for the better.

After arriving at Cal Lutheran, Pascua immediately began to apply for different internships.

“I have been a fan of Warner Media since 2018 when Crazy Rich Asians came out and I knew Warner Media was a company that I have been wanting to work for for the longest time because of their commitment to diversity and inclusion,” Pascua said.

She had been looking for internships with Warner Media since she was in high school but they don’t have positions for high school students. During her first year at college, she applied for an internship position but was denied. After her second time applying she got the job. Pascua remembers feeling happy with how the interview went and was so grateful to be offered the internship. 

Through this internship, she was able to attend the SAG awards. This was her first time attending an award ceremony.

“Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be going to the SAG awards just because I’ve been watching them for the longest time,” Pascua said.

At the event, Pascua was mainly doing talent spotting for Warner Media. When talent would pull up to the red carpet, she would assist the primary talent spotter and help them identify who was arriving in order to keep the red carpet running smoothly. Some of the celebrities she saw included Lady Gaga, Andrew Garfield, and Reese Witherspoon. 

One of Pascua’s favorite celebrities she saw was Sandra Oh.

“It was nice seeing someone that I have looked up to since I was 15 years old and to just see her walk past me,” Pascua said. 

Pascua said that this experience was one for the books and insane to be a part of.

“Once I was done with talent spotting, the assistant told me to just enjoy it and take pictures so I could soak in the experience,” Pascua said.

Pascua said that her internship at Warner Media has taught her a tremendous amount of communication skills, more than she thought was possible. Pascua is only a sophomore at Cal Lutheran but she has already had three internships. 

“This internship has changed my outlook on what I want to do, at first I wanted to do diversity, equity and inclusion but now I’m thinking about doing events and talent relations because it’s so nice building relationships with the talent. Rather than seeing them just as talent, I get to see them as a human being,” Pascua said. 

Pascua has known since she was younger what she wanted to do after graduating from college and she has used that drive to earn herself a position at one of her dream media companies. Resulting in her landing her a spot at the SAG awards.