October 8, 2024 — Kait Dugan '25 is no stranger to the world of entertainment, having just started her third internship with NBC at Saturday Night Live. Over the summer, Kait completed an internship at Late Night with Seth Meyers, and this past spring, she completed an internship with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“They have been the most rewarding experiences of my life,” said Kait.

NBC and NYC

The Tonight Show set. Photo by Kait Dugan '25.

The spring of her junior year, Kait secured her first internship with NBC as a photography intern at The Tonight Show.

“I worked under one of my favorite photographers ever. His name’s Todd Owyoung. He’s a world-renowned concert photographer and he taught me everything he knows, which is just incredible,” said Kait.

NBC’s programs offer the chance for interns to see the behind-the-scenes of their most iconic shows. “My favorite memory was the champagne toast for the 10th anniversary of Fallon. I was the only intern working in-studio, so I was taking pictures of the whole cast and crew. Jimmy shook my hand and thanked me for my work.”

While working at Late Night with Seth Myers over the summer, Kait participated in Marist’s Summer in the City Program with Fordham University. Through the partnership, Fordham provided her with housing, while Marist offered her an internship seminar course.

“My summer working in the Manhattan program turned me into the person I am today. I feel so much more comfortable and confident.”

Kait credits her ability to balance her course load, campus involvement, and internships in part to Marist’s drive to help its students succeed, and to her advisor Matt Frieburghas.

“He’s been super supportive and wanted to make sure that I'd be able to do everything that I wanted to do while I was here. [Marist has] definitely been resourceful in making sure that students have the opportunity, and now there's five of us that are going to be interning at NBC for the academic year.”

Kait on Campus

Kait in the Marist Maker Lab. Photo by Karissa Lattin '25/Marist.

A New York State native from Cornwall, Marist offered Kait the best of both worlds: the chance to attend art school close to friends and family in the Hudson Valley, and have access to all the opportunities New York City has to offer.

“It was actually my mom who said I should explore Marist. Moms give great advice by the way, because she was right! No other schools compared academically or aesthetically to Marist.”

After a virtual open house with the Marist art department, Kait committed. She double majors in Digital Media and Fine Arts, with concentrations in Graphic Design, Digital Art, and Studio Art.

Kait has been actively involved on campus since her freshman year, most notably with the Student Programming Council, or SPC. Last year, Kait served as President and organized the 2024 Spring Concert with Saint Motel and Baby Tate. “It was surreal as someone who wants to be in the music industry to be able to put on a show of that caliber for the Marist campus.”

The experiences also sparked something else: a love of concert photography.

Students at The Driver Era, the Spring 2023 Concert. Photo by Kait Dugan '25.

“I’ve had a passion for photography since I was in middle school, but the first concert I ever shot was the Marist Spring Concert with The Driver Era. That was the first time I’d ever been in a photo pit and I fell in love with that feeling. It became an eye-opening experience, inspiring me to do more.”

In addition to concert photography, Kait shoots for MPorium at Marist, a student-run boutique on campus, and is building a portfolio of portraits and graduation photos.

Creativity Beyond Photography

From left to right: Ais, Maddie, Kait at the exhibit. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist College.

Kait’s creative work extends beyond photography. In January, she started a magazine called Funky PPL Press, based on a project where she illustrated over eighty students wearing their favorite outfits. The project was featured in the first-ever Made at Marist Maker Lab exhibition, which Kait ran with a close friend. She looks forward to continuing her work with the Maker Lab as the director of the second exhibition this year.

Kait intends to use Funky PPL Press as her senior thesis. The magazine features graphics, illustrations, posters, and music reviews, all created and written by Kait. The project has opened the door for opportunities in the music industry.

“I partnered with Universal Music Group °1824. They’re a group of mostly students, but there are also full-time staff that do press conferences, artist relations, graphic design, photography, everything. One of the Universal Music Group °1824 staff members, who’s now my representative, found FPP and told me to come to one of their press conferences.  Before this interview, I was doing a write-up from a press conference with the rapper Yung Gravy."

Kait encourages all Marist students to pursue their passions and explore new ones. “Never let any type of rejection get in the way of what you want to do. Throughout my freshman, sophomore year, and fall of junior year, I applied to NBC three or four times. If I just stopped applying I wouldn’t be where I am now. Just because you get a no doesn’t mean you’re not going to get a yes at some point.”

After college, Kait dreams of continuing her work with NBC or following an artist on tour as a concert photographer.