Everything is Awesome: Katie’s LEGO Adventure

by Aislinn Green ’28

Internships are an integral part of the college student experience, whether you’re a cartographer or mortuary assistant. Internships are always on the back of every student’s mind, brought to the forefront in their upperclassmen years as they’re thrust into the world of pre-employment. For upcoming artists, it’s even more important to create connections and get experience in the professional creative industry. MCA navigates student internships using this guiding principle to help propel undergraduate artists to integrate themselves with the professional art scene. Some people might hear the word “internship” and think of unpaid labor and coffee runs, but in reality, the art world has a wide and vibrant selection of opportunities for up-and-coming artists, from right here in Beverly to all the way across the pond. We’re all aware of our inevitable fate, but what does this internship process actually look like? What can it look like? Are there limitations to how transformative this experience can be?

After speaking with senior Katie Capobianco to discuss their graphic-design internship with LEGO, I’d say the sky is the limit. Katie just returned home from Billund, Denmark, where they spent just over three months working as a graphic designer for LEGO. Alongside a team of other interns as well as seasoned designers, Katie was able to get a glimpse into the life of a designer at LEGO. 

KATIE: My team– I was on the Ninjago team.

AZ: Shut up.

Perhaps some of you are similarly shocked and awed by the mention of the prolific  LEGO Ninjago, or maybe you’ve not had the pleasure of experiencing the story-rich ninja-themed franchise. Ninjago’s release took the world by storm when the animated series first aired on Cartoon Network in 2011, coinciding with the release of the tie-in construction toy sets. Katie herself is a fan of the series and was ecstatic to be assigned to the team during their time there. I can certainly understand the hype: I know people named after this franchise, I know people who live and breathe this franchise. So, to say I was gagged was an understatement, hence my instinctual “shut up” response (Sorry Katie). 

Katie gave me a rundown on how things operate over at LEGO. If AZ understands correctly, each team is composed of a handful of designers, either Model Designers or Graphic Designers, and maybe a concept artist or two. Additionally, there were artists in charge of box and instructional booklet design, they explained. 

AZ: And you were in the graphic design portion, right? So, what did you do, specifically? 

KATIE: It was basically everything except for the box and the book that goes inside the box. So, stickers, minifigures, capes, boat [decals], dragon wings, things like that. 

I don’t know how much thought I’d previously given to the design mastery of the sticker sheet that’s included in the LEGO set, but my eyes have been opened. A pile of bricks does not a LEGO set make, and people like Katie (and maybe… you?) work hard behind the scenes to serve up lively sets filled with character and detail. 

AZ: Do you think your experience kind of changed, like, your perspective on what your career is going to look like after college?

KATIE: Absolutely. I want to be back. I wanna go back– I hope they’ll have me back. I think I tasted what I wanted and now I don’t want anything else. It was just such a perfect fit. It was refreshing to see what I am capable of in terms of using my abilities.

Now Katie’s back with a whole new toolset under her belt: newly formed bonds with other talented creatives, a more expansive portfolio, and a taste of her dream career. In the grand scheme of Montserrat student internship experiences, I’m not gonna lie: this one might be hard to beat. But, if you’d like to challenge Katie’s record for lowest-cortisol internship experience, here’s a little guide on how to get started. 

KATIE’S 4-STEP GUIDE TO AN AWESOME INTERNSHIP

Step 1: Reach for the stars. 

KATIE: I had sent some emails to some random YouTube companies, like Hot Ones and like the Try Guys. 
I was like, eh, I’ll shoot my shot. I heard nothing. And I was like, all right, I’ll just go higher.

Step 2: Go higher. 

You know what they say: Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars. The stars being, in this case, a ragtag crew of blocky multicolor elemental ninja characters. 

Step 3: Have fun & be yourself.

AZ: For other people going for big brand internships like this, what would be your tip to make you stand out? 

KATIE: Showing your passion, because that really trickles down into the actual [work]… Yeah, just being yourself, for sure. I know for my portfolio at first I was worried that I wasn’t showing enough of my Graphic Design work versus my illustration, because in my portfolio I wanted to show both. And that was exactly what they wanted, somebody who had both! So, being able to show your skills and your confidence. 

AZ: Just be real. 

KATIE: Yeah! Be real. 

Step 4: Be patient. 

KATIE: Be patient because a lot of times the bigger they are, the harder– or the longer it will take to hear back. I know for me it took a few months for me to hear back because the bigger they are, the more people will be applying, the more people you have to get through. 
And, so just keeping that in mind for sure.

With these four short steps, you too could land yourself a life-changing internship experience. Not only will this be a transformative adventure that improves on all of the skills required for your future career, it may also grant you some insider knowledge into the company of your choice. 

AZ: So now that you have this look behind the LEGO scenes, did you learn anything, like, weird or surprising? 

KATIE: I guess it was interesting seeing, like, how the bricks were made. We got a tour of the factory. 
So that was really cool.

AZ: Is there, like, something that you worked on that might be coming out soon that we should look out for? 
Or can you not disclose? 

KATIE: I can’t say, I can say it’s a mini figure, but I wasn’t told if it was greenlit yet because it’s supposed to be out, like, mid to late 2027. So they couldn’t tell me yes or no. 
So if it comes out, I’ll just see it or– it’ll leak or something. Then I can say I did it, or I can put it in my portfolio. 
But, until then… 

So mysterious. And to think, only three months as an intern and Katie might already have one of their designs released by LEGO! In just that short time, Katie was able to experience what it would be like to pursue a challenging and fulfilling aspiration of theirs, completely transforming their perspective and giving them hope and determination to return to LEGO and pursue their dream. It’s safe to say this was definitely a faith-in-humanity-restored internship experience. An exemplar to base our own internships around, even. We’ve all heard at least one or two unpaid internship horror stories, and given the general expectation of these experiences, it’s certainly refreshing and comforting to get Katie’s perspective on the whole ordeal. Perhaps this wholesome journey might breathe new life into your own internship endeavors, in which case Katie and I wish you luck (as do Cole, Zane, Kai, Lloyd, and so on).