On any given day, you can find Kristin Harris \u201911 interviewing A-listers such as Ryan Gosling, Rihanna, Nicole Kidman, Bill Murray and Ed Sheeran.<\/p>\n
As BuzzFeed\u2019s celebrity editor and head of talent relations,\u00a0Harris has the job that pop culture nerds dream about.<\/p>\n
When she was 10 years old, the Lake Mary, Florida, native pictured her career as it is today, and though it\u2019s taken a lot of hustle and hard work, the advertising and public relations alumna has made it her reality.<\/p>\n
Harris broke into the industry during her first year at UCF when she was selected by Teen Vogue<\/em> for a program the magazine was spearheading to collaborate on a project with a skin-care company.<\/p>\n The pivotal moment to jumpstart her current career, however, happened two summers later. She emailed more than a dozen editors to beg for an internship. Without any published work to her name, she created a blog and wrote sample articles in the hopes it would be enough to convince an editor to hire her.<\/p>\n She received a reply from Eva Chen, one of the fashion industry\u2019s youngest editors to lead a national American magazine. Two days later, Harris flew to New York for an interview and was offered an internship at Teen Vogue<\/em> about eight years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m lucky she took a chance on me. It sounds overdramatic now, but at the time, an internship at Teen Vogue<\/em> \u2013 it was the heyday of [MTV\u2019s show] The Hills<\/em> \u2013 it was a really big deal,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was the year magazines started creating an online presence. It was the beginning of everything that exists now. She let me do whatever I wanted.\u2026Without that experience, I would say I would not be where I am right now.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the working knowledge she gained through her internships, Harris continued to round out her resume with campus involvement through student government and the study-abroad program. Her time at UCF helped transform her from a quiet teenager to a go-getter.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up so much in those four years and in this industry and my job, I really truly needed that,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt was really through my experience at UCF \u2014 the friendships I made, the professors I met and the opportunities I had \u2014 that I grew into the kind of person who could go after her dreams and make them happen.\u201d<\/p>\n She moved to England to further her education at the London College of Fashion. When she came back stateside, she job hunted for a year in New York City.<\/p>\n She remembers a day that seems so long ago now, sitting by the water in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn contemplating her life. Despite her hard work and effort, a job remained elusive.<\/p>\n What was she doing? Should give up on her dream? Map out a new life plan?<\/p>\n Then she checked her inbox.<\/p>\n