AMC Networks Executive Theresa Patiri Shares TV Expertise, Encourages HPU Students
Ken Elston, dean of High Point University’s Douglas S. Witcher School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, interviewed Theresa Patiri, AMC Networks’ senior vice president of production, business affairs and global program partnerships for WE tv, about her media career in a Life Skills and Leadership Series session titled “From Intern to Executive.”
HIGH POINT, N.C., March 28, 2025 – Theresa Patiri, AMC Networks’ senior vice president of production, business affairs and global program partnerships for WE tv, encouraged hundreds of High Point University students to follow their passion and develop authentic relationships to reach their career goals during her visit to campus on March 17.
Patiri, who serves as HPU’s Media Production and Sales Expert in Residence, sat down with Ken Elston, dean of the Douglas S. Witcher School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, for an hourlong Q&A during her Life Skills and Leadership Series session titled “From Intern to Executive.” An accomplished entertainment executive with more than 25 years of experience in the industry, Patiri is executive-in-charge of more than 5,000 hours of TV and digital content.
She told students she was scared when she was in their position, but she assured them they didn’t have to know yet what their future career would be and advised them to work hard in any field they feel passionate about.
“If you’re not doing what you love every day, maybe that’s not what you should be doing,” Patiri said.
While on campus, Patiri taught classes on media production and entrepreneurship, recorded a one-minute mentorship podcast and shared lunch with students.
As a first-generation college student from an immigrant family, Patiri majored in psychology and minored in media production because of her passion for storytelling. She mailed 250 resumes while attempting to land an internship as a counselor but got no response. She received a call from the internship coordinator for ABC’s “All My Children” on the day before her sophomore semester started because her resume was on top of the pile when another intern broke a leg. She recalled working 15 hours a day without pay and being willing to do anything to learn and make connections with others. Those relationships led to her next projects in live TV, Saturday Night Live, the Today show, HBO, the Olympics, independent films and casting.
“It’s from meeting people, connecting with authentic folks and having an authentic relationship that gets you to the next place in your journey,” she said. “I had a whole five-year plan as a counselor, and that completely changed as I experienced different things, learned different things and met new people.”
Patiri said she was blessed to have mentors who would be brutally honest and supportive to tell her what she was doing wrong or right. She urged students to consider all feedback as a gift.
What Students Learned
When a student asked what her greatest piece of feedback was, Patiri said simply “to listen more.”
“Transparency among your team and your employees is what not only helps you succeed but saves your business at the same time,” said Remington Ballidis, a freshman finance major from Orange County, California. “With teamwork, you’re not constantly climbing the ladder. It’s keeping you from falling down the ladder.”
Patiri’s Life Skills Seminar was the sixth session that allowed HPU students to work toward earning a tuition-free certification in coachability. Students who attend four designated Access to Innovators sessions can earn a Life Skills certification and enhance their professional credentials.
To be relentless in seeking a goal is what Jackson Jones, a freshman psychology major with a minor in forensics, said he learned from Patiri’s session.
“If you go straight to what you want to do, keep your eyes on the prize and want it bad enough, everything else will fall in line,” said Jones, who is from Columbus, Ohio. “When I asked her about faith, it was comforting to hear her say through faith no matter where she went God was holding her hand the entire time. That made me feel more comfortable and more confident in rooms that I’m looking forward to being a part of in the future, changing lives as well and giving back to the community.”