Favorite Things: Jaime Bozack and her Conan O’Brien mug

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Jaime Bozack is a Michigan State University graduate who travels between Los Angeles and Michigan as a producer and writer. In 2017, she interned with Conan O’Brien’s talk show on TBS, “Conan.” Her favorite thing is a coffee mug O’Brien left to her as a memento for her time on the show. 

It was my dream to get the Conan O’Brien internship. I was super nervous, it was the classic L.A. story — two suitcases and a dream. I had zero money saved up, I didn’t really have a plan on how I was going to make it. I just went out there and worked super hard at “Conan” to stand out. 

I was some girl from Michigan that they weren’t going to notice. So everyday I would try to socialize with the writers and producers and go out of my way to get whatever they needed. I’d volunteer to get coffee; try to come up with jokes for the show — I was pretty all over the place. I had a close bond with them, I think even they were surprised that they bonded with an intern. I see a lot of them when I go out there now, and they say, “Hey, you’re the only one I still talk to!” And that’s amazing.

This item was given to me during my last week. The stage handler came up to me and handed me the mug, it was wrapped in a newspaper. He said, “This is from all of us. This is from Conan.” At that point, I had talked to Conan a few times, so I believed him. It’s something I have on my desk and I hold it very dear to who I am. I treat it as an accomplishment of what I’ve done. 

I didn’t think I would ever talk to Conan. I was very nervous, because he’s so funny. I wondered, “What if I say something, and he just thinks I’m the worst person ever.”

There was a big Christmas party and he invited all of the interns. I chatted with him throughout the night, but it was just very basic stuff. Some very famous people showed up and it was really weird, but everybody acted like it was just a normal part of their life. But it wasn’t normal for me yet. 

The party was wrapping up and I saw Conan sitting there. It was my last day as an intern, so I decided to say something to him. I had two glasses of wine, so I was feeling confident. I went up to him, put my hand on his shoulder and said, “I just want to let you know that this has been an amazing experience. I never thought I would get to where I’m at and you’re my favorite person.” Conan said, “I’m just a guy like everybody else.” I was like, “Yeah, you know, you are.” Then he said, “No I’m just kidding, you should be begging me for a job right now.” I improvised, and I’m usually never this smooth, but I picked my drink back up, walked away, came back and said, “Hi, I’m Jaime. Can I please have a job?” He laughed really hard and said, “I can tell you’re very funny. Maybe someday I’ll be working for you.” 

That interaction changed my life. 

Interview edited and condensed by Skyler Ashley. If you have a suggestion for Favorite Things, please email Skyler@LansingCityPulse.com

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