LSU Alumnus John Bellina | Success Starts with an LSU Degree

Meet John

John Bellina

Writer’s Assistant on iZOMBIE, Warner Bros. (Studio) CW (Network)

English major, Film & Media Arts minor

Donaldsonville, LA

Class of 2010

One item John cannot live without:
His girlfriend, Mary. “We’re an item. That counts. Boo-yah.” (It’s a stretch, but we’ll let it slide)

The first app he opens in the morning:
Instagram. “Who needs sunrises and breakfast when you can look at people’s heavily filtered photographs of the sky and their food.”

John’s personal style as a student:
“T-shirt, white shoes that I failed to keep clean, and sweat. I wore a lot of sweat.”

John’s favorite hashtag:
#iZombie (Geaux figure!)

He makes your worst nightmares come to life in the funniest ways imaginable.

As a writer's assistant for iZOMBIE, a comedy on The CW, he keeps track of the show's various story beats, develops story ideas with a table of other writers, and has even written his own episode for the show.

John graduated from LSU in 2010 with a degree in English and a minor in Film and Media Arts. He knew all along that LSU was the place for him. "LSU is deep-fried into my DNA,” he said. He was “actually born right on the bayou,” in Donaldsonville, LA, a town of only 7,000.

John's multiple professors and classes impacted him greatly throughout his college career. His English degree allowed him to study some of the greatest authors of all time; he read everything from the entire works of William Shakespeare to bibliographies of Nobel Prize winning authors like William Falkner.

Surrounded by like-minded creatives with successful writing careers, John was constantly provided with feedback, and his work, creativity, and passion flourished. The creative environment on campus encouraged his pursuit of an artistic major and prepared him for his writing career in Hollywood.

“I learned how to tell a story… and was able to apply what I learned to a handful of playwriting, screenwriting, and poetry classes -- classes where I was challenged and taken out of my comfort zone in a truly rewarding way.”

In addition to having his creative appetite satisfied, Baton Rouge appeased John's taste buds. His favorite memories are of enjoying the delicious food the area offers. “I'm a Cajun who moved away from home… Po'boys, crawdads, and beignets, oh my. Best stuff in the world.” Life in Baton Rouge treated him well. He frequently attended his friends' live shows and screamed his lungs out to the music. “I was groupie MVP for four years running.”

“No single person has ever found success without a certain degree of luck along the way. Be patient – earn respect, you're not entitled to it. At the risk of sounding like a Pinterest quote – surround yourself with the people who encourage you to be the best version of yourself. And, most importantly, keep your accent and say ‘y'all' a lot.”

Now in Hollywood, John enjoys his new environment. He brainstorms daily with a table of brilliant and hilarious writers. They have a lot of fun together. “We get free lunches every day. It's the best. We also dance to Lorde's ‘Green Light' every morning. That's not a joke.” He's most proud of writing an episode of iZOMBIE, and he even flew to Vancouver to watch its production. “It doesn't get much cooler than that.”