The Digital Collegian - Published independently by students at Penn State ARTS
[ Thursday, April 21, 2005 ]

Alumna dishes dirt on 'PoweR Girls'

Collegian Staff Writer

The end of season one of MTV's PoweR Girls marks the end of one recent Penn State graduate's summer interning at Lizzie Grubman PR (LGPR).

Monica Glass was told of a possible reality show being taped during her internship, but it wasn't until her first day on the job that she realized just what they meant.

"When I arrived they were definitely doing the show and the cameras were there almost every single day," Glass said. "We didn't know which network was picking up the show, and we were told to tell the press 'no comment' if asked about the cameras."

The show came about originally as a reality series about Lizzie Grubman's life outside public relations.

"MTV approached me to do a show where I would help make someone into a star," Grubman said. "However, when they came to my office, they noticed the great dynamic between me and my staff. It then turned into a show about me and the four youngest girls; if we could have used more of Monica, we would have."

Viewers might not have seen more than a quick glimpse of Glass during the first few episodes, but Glass says she still felt like a PoweR Girl.

"Monica is such a sweet girl and so hardworking," Grubman said. "She did anything anyone would ask of her, even if it was stuffing envelopes. It's hard to find interns who are of age, and since she is 21 she got the full Lizzie Grubman experience."

That experience might look fun and exciting with the nightlife activities that come with their long list of clients, but it wasn't always like that.

"What you see on the show is pretty true to what happened while I was working there," Glass said. "There is lots of work to be done and it isn't all glamour, however, it can be a lot of fun at times. You don't get to see us in the office too much, but there is a lot of work done in the office before the nighttime events."

Those nighttime events were shown quite frequently on the show, especially in the beginning, when PoweR Girl Rachel planned the opening of New York's newest, but now closed, club Ruby Falls. "I did a lot of work with Ruby Falls," Glass said. "I wrote all of their press, helped plan invites, did media alerts and called other publicists. I even helped to open other clubs."

Despite all the fun that viewers may see the PoweR Girls having on the show, Glass wants people to know that the life of a publicist can be really hard.

"At the beginning of each week we had to find out which celebrities were going to be in town, whether for a premier, birthday party, galas or for talk shows," she said. "Also, I was the only full-time intern, so that meant lots of long hours."

But all of those long hours did end up paying off.

"Monica is a PoweR Girl in training," Grubman said. "When you work here you have to be an intern first and she has the qualities to become a PoweR Girl, but at the end of the day I could see that it wasn't what she wanted. I would love to have her back though."

Aside from all of the work that Glass did at LGPR, she also got to see what happens behind the scenes. "While the show is pretty true to form, it shows that the drama between Kelly and Millie is pretty bad, while it really isn't," Glass said. "Also, Rachel is nowhere near as controlling as she seems."

Glass spent most of her internship working with Rachel.

"After awhile I asked if I could start to focus on one client and they sent me to Rachel to help her with her main client, The Gemz."

The Gemz is the tween pop group featured in the episode in which Rachel was rushed off to the emergency room.

"I was in the car with Lizzie and Rachel when we had to drop Rachel off at the hospital," Glass said. "While she was at the hospital, I had to take The Gemz to lunch, their hotel and eventually to Planet Hollywood."

When Glass had free time, she loved working with Grubman.

"I loved the events and seeing what my work accomplished, and working with the girls was so worthwhile," Glass said.

Brian Goldenberg, LGPR's chief financial officer, said Glass was a hard worker. "She was very professional, she worked hard and was very enthusiastic," he said. "All of the other PoweR Girls started out as interns just like Monica and I think she has what it takes to be as good as them."

With Glass' December graduation behind her, she's taking the rest of the semester to find the perfect job. "I want to go back to New York City and do PR," she said. "I practically spend every weekend there now."

Don't think that Glass spent a full summer in New York working with celebrities and doesn't have any gossip. "I got to meet a lot of celebrities, go to club openings and see the drama between Lizzie and Lindsay Lohan skipping the red carpet at Ruby Falls."

Glass has some more dirt, but she's keeping it to herself.


 



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