In a galaxy not so far away, University alumnus Chris Spitale works with Star Wars toys for a living.

Spitale graduated in 1996 with a degree in advertising, but he said he was unsure of his career path until he returned to school to earn his master’s degree in media management in 1998.

In a presentation to students in the Journalism Building on Thursday, Spitale talked about what he does on a daily basis as well as how he attained his current position.

Spitale said Career Services was one of the most valuable assets to him.  

“I was looking through a book called America’s Top 100 Internships,” he said. “When I discovered Lucasfilm had an internship in that book, I thought ‘Wow this is what I want to do.’ I went to Career Services and filled out an application but didn’t get the job.”

But Spitale didn’t give up. He applied the following year with the help of his graduate adviser and got the internship.

After the internship, Spitale stayed in touch with Lucasfilm employees, which ultimately led to a job with the company. He worked his way up from a production assistant and now serves as the senior manager for global product development.

“Most of my day is spent on the computer,” he said. “My desk and office is cluttered with things to approve … but getting to handle all of the Star Wars memorabilia is really the coolest part of the job.”

Spitale said his office “signs off on” every part of a product from packaging to marketing materials to final production.

As an example of his daily routine, he described a holiday-themed Darth Vader statue.

“We had to think about what would Vader be doing in a holiday atmosphere,” Spitale said. “My idea was, ‘What if he is building a death star in the snow?’”

Some Star Wars characters only appear in the films for a few seconds. The crew, therefore, often reinvents the way characters look when creating action figures — although the action figure cannot deviate too much from a character’s original appearance.

Spitale spends most of his time at Lucasfilm’s facility in the Bay Area, but he said he enjoys coming back to Baton Rouge.

“I miss the culture, and I miss the people,” he said. “The South has a nice energy in the fall, especially around football season, that you just don’t get anywhere else.”