The 2010 Winter Olympics officially start tonight with Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver, and I’m pretty pumped for it. Though I will be watching from the comfort of my couch, I know I’ll still be cheering when I see Team USA carry the flag during the Parade of Nations.

Of course, my excitement won’t come close to matching that of the Ithaca College students who are going along for the ride as part of the NBC Sports internship program. NBC Sports has chosen 31 students from the Park School of Communications at Ithaca to go and live in the international media village in Vancouver for the duration of the Winter Games and work alongside media professionals covering the events. Talk about getting some valuable experience for your resume!

This is not the first time Ithaca College has gone to the Olympics. In fact, students have interned with NBC sports at the Olympics in Beijing and in Turin, too. NBC obviously sees something wonderful in Ithaca’s communications program, which means that Ithaca would be a great addition to the college wish list for aspiring communications or journalism majors.

Like many college internships, these NBC Sports positions are unpaid, but considering the amount of behind-the-scenes experience these interns will be getting, I don’t think anyone really cares. Besides, having an NBC credit on their resume before they even graduate will probably pay off more later than getting a small paycheck now.

Good luck to Team USA and those lucky and talented Ithaca College students. We’ll be rooting for all of you!

–Barbara Bellesi