Nana Afia Boadi-Acheampong, has been selected for the prestigious Television Academy Foundation Internship programme in Hollywood, California. She is one of 40 students chosen by Television Academy members from across the U.S. for the 2025 Summer Internship program.
The Foundation offers paid internships at top Hollywood studios and production companies annually to college students nationwide.
Boadi-Acheampong is a 2025 graduate of the University of Southern California who majored in film and television production. She will be a directing intern this summer working with director and cinematographer Michael Goi on the television series Matlock in Los Angeles through the Foundation’s program.
Michael Goi is an American cinematographer and film director well known for his work on Showtime’s Web Therapy and for his work with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk on Glee, Scream Queens and American Horror Story.
“It feels incredible to be recognized by Television Academy members,” said Boadi-Acheampong. “They honor some of the best storytellers in television, and their selection of me for this internship reignites my dedication to the craft of directing and storytelling. I plan to make the most of this amazing opportunity and am excited to experience a full-scale series production.”
Born in Ghana, West Africa, Boadi-Acheampong immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, with her family where she attended high school at Phillips Academy-Andover in Andover, Massachusetts.
“As a lost Ghanaian girl in a new country, television allowed me to escape my loneliness and the taunts that I was too different and not enough,” said Boadi-Acheampong.
“This relationship evolved as series like HBO’s I May Destroy You and My Brilliant Friend moved me to tears, laughter and reflection. From those shows, I discovered stories could be a vessel to explore identities and realize my possibilities. Inspired, I’ve begun directing my own stories, crafting poignant characters with rich inner worlds and writhing turmoil. I hope to make a career out of moving television audiences to think and feel in new ways.
“I have dealt with discrimination since I first immigrated with my family from Ghana to Boston,” said Boadi-Acheampong. “It has not been easy to navigate while also dealing with economic and personal challenges. I have had to learn to embrace my identity and pour my heart into my work, making the best use of the resources available to me while seeking out others.
Thankfully, I had stories and television to help me along the way. I now know that the identities that make me different—my Blackness, womanhood and immigrant status—grant me profound insights about life, making me more empathetic and astute. And these same difficulties have made me an adept, resilient and thoughtful director.
“I am a multi-hyphenate. Along with directing, I also write, edit and produce various narrative, conceptual and music video works. Being knowledgeable in these fields has allowed me to be more aware and decisive when directing. I am able to visualize and anticipate certain needs and logistics.
“Ultimately, my goal is to become a television director who makes sweeping, coming-of-age dramas depicting characters of various ages struggling to build identity and relationships and coming to know themselves in new ways,” continued Boadi-Acheampong. “These nuanced dramas will highlight diverse voices and speak to the difficulties of communication and complex relationships.”
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 and opportunities for accelerated career development in more than 30 disciplines annually.
