Van Nuys High Alum Selected for Television Academy Foundation’s Dick Wolf Foster Youth Internship

Van Nuys High School alumna and former foster youth Tracy Hernandez 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 2025 Summer program. The Foundation offers paid internships at top Hollywood studios and production companies annually to college students nationwide.

Hernandez will be a senior this fall at UCLA majoring in gender studies. She will be a physical production / business management intern this summer at the Hallmark
Channel in Studio City, California, through the Foundation’s Dick Wolf Foster Youth Internship Program.

Established in 2016 with support from Dick Wolf's Wolf Family Foundation, the Dick Wolf Foster Youth Internship Program offers summer learning opportunities in television production for college students from the greater Los Angeles area who have been in the foster care system. The program offers exceptional access to industry professionals in entertainment, real-life work experience, professional development and networking opportunities to help prepare students for media-industry careers.

“I’m really excited about this internship, and what I’ll learn,” said Hernandez. “This is a big opportunity, and I look forward to taking full advantage of it. The most exciting thing about it is being able to follow people who are highly skilled at their jobs and learn from them."

“I'm still discovering what my ultimate career aspiration is, but I’d love to help create a film that talks about the struggles of foster youth and educates many on the truths of living within the system,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez attended Van Nuys High School in Van Nuys, CA.

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, mentorships and opportunities for accelerated career development in more than 30 disciplines annually. For more information visit TelevisionAcademy.com/Foundation.