The Purdue Athletics Department has selected eight student-athletes to serve as interns in various areas this summer.
The fourth-year internship program, coordinated by Laura Schnell, assistant director for academic support services, aims to provide student-athletes real-world experience working within a university athletics department and help them in their desired career paths. They will be working 150 hours between May and August and will be paid $1,500 for their service.
Two marketing & promotions and John R. Wooden Leadership Institute interns were selected. The four other intern positions are housed in communications, compliance, the John Purdue Club and the ticket office.
The goals of the internship program are:
1. To provide an opportunity for student-athletes to gain meaningful professional experience in an environment that understands the constraints of their busy year-round academic and athletic schedules.
2. To educate student-athletes about the process of building a career.
3. To assist student-athletes in preparing for life after college and athletics.
4. To offer networking and professional development opportunities.
John Wooden Leadership Institute
Jackie Smailis / Sophomore / Swimming & Diving / Retail Management, Selling & Sales Management major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: I really wanted to gain more experience in the workforce, as well as becoming better acquainted with how Purdue is ran. Being able to show my ideas and hard work will allow me the opportunity to grow as an employee. I believe that I will benefit by working alongside the people that make Purdue University great.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: I would like to run my own business someday. I very much enjoy the business role and being able to have a new task every single day.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: Being able to express my creative side and really work on things that benefit the athletic student body is something that I am very excited for.
Q: How will this internship help you reach your future goals? What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
A: This internship will allow me to gain new experiences and insights about time management as well as a better relationship with the people behind the scenes of Purdue Athletics. I am excited to get to work and help make a difference.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: I would say that I am a little nervous, but excited to be able to voice my opinions as a student-athlete and be able to better Purdue Athletics as best as I can. I want to be able to make an impact during my internship.
Breana Robbins / Freshman / Soccer / Finance major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: There are numerous reasons I was interested in this internship. First off, leadership development is important to me. This internship will expose me to leaders at the university, in business and the community. Experiencing and learning new dimensions of leadership and providing me an opportunity to apply these traits in a work environment will help my overall personal development. The opportunity to practice networking with other business leaders is also very exciting to me. I believe the skills and qualities gained through this internship will have a positive impact on my studies, my team and my future work opportunities.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: Honestly, this is a tough question for me to answer at this time. I used to say I wanted to be a CFO of a major company and this is maybe more of a dream for me at this time. My hope is an internship such as this one can help expose me to things I like to do. I believe these experiences will give me some help to better answer this question. I need to find out things that I am good at, I enjoy and that will have a meaningful impact on people. I have seen my parents have very successful careers working in jobs that they totally enjoy. My hope is to find something similar.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: I am excited about the leadership development opportunity and all that comes with it. I also felt very comfortable with [leadership advisor] Cathy Wright-Eger during the interview. They made me feel good about the opportunity and made me feel like I can contribute in a positive way, which excites me. I also feel I have lots of ideas. I hope this is a role I can find times to introduce new ideas and begin to develop them with others.
Q: How will this internship help you reach your future goals? What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
A: My future goals are mostly focused on my immediate plans. First off, securing an internship as a freshman is unique, so I am very excited to land this opportunity. I feel this will help me make some more informed choices on what I want to study.
Secondly, I am looking to advance my leadership role on our team. I understand my role and we have a good group of leaders today. I am currently more of a quite leader and lead by example. I work hard and let my effort earn the respect of my teammates. As I develop and current team leaders graduate, I will be looking to bring my voice more to our team or a player in need. I have been told knowing when, how and what to say will be important and that I can only learn this through practicing. I look to practice this during the internship. I do believe I can contribute as a leader in our team’s future success.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: I do believe having an appreciation for the other side is important. It will expose me to the business side of college athletics that many of us do not understand today.
Marketing & Promotions
Erika Beeler / Sophomore / Softball / Agriculture Sales & Marketing major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: I applied for this internship program because I felt this opportunity would provide me with the foundation to excel in a career in athletics, while helping drive the success of an athletic program I love.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: I intend to pursue a career in athletics as a softball coach or athletic administrator.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: Purdue Athletics has been such a huge part of my life throughout the years, so I am excited to have the opportunity to market and promote a culture of athletics for past, present and future Boilermakers. I am excited to learn more about the process and behind the scenes work of this department.
Q: How will this internship help you reach your future goals? What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
A: This internship will provide me with a greater understanding of the inner workings of Purdue Athletics. I believe this will provide me with a better understanding of the roles associated with the marketing & promotions department and allow me to validate my career goals.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: The marketing & promotions department does so much for our athletic department; they really help make the environment fun for our fans and student-athletes. I cannot wait to dive into this opportunity and to learn the other side of athletics.
Taylor Dunlap / Senior / Track & Field / Organizational Leadership & Supervision major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: I applied to the internship program to gain experience and expand my knowledge in the area of sports marketing and promotions. I would like to improve my interpersonal and leadership skills in a professional environment and gain more insight to this area of the business.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: Right now I am interested in pursuing a career in areas of sports administration and sports management. This internship will provide me with invaluable experience in the pursuit of my goals.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: I am in very excited to be able to apply my classroom learnings to real world situations and to be able to remain close to sports. It is a great honor to be selected for this opportunity that Purdue provides for its student-athletes. Also, my roommate did this internship last summer and expressed great things about the department and the people.
Q: How will this internship help you reach your future goals? What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
A: By completing this internship I hope to gain knowledge of how an NCAA Division I college athletics program works. I hope to obtain hands on experience with running marketing and promotions for college sports.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: I am extremely excited to get to find out what happens behind the scenes and how I can contribute to the goals of the department while preparing for my next phase in life. Having had the experience of being a college student-athlete will only enhance the experience.
Communications
Da’Wan Hunte / Senior / Football / Mass Communications major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: I applied for this internship to get a further understanding of how athletics communications department works. Being that this is something I want to get into in the future, I felt that it was important for me to get hands-on experience of what takes place behind the scenes.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: I would like to go into sports broadcasting as a career, eventually working my way to ESPN.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: I’ll be able to learn about what happens behind the scenes of athletics communications. I will get the opportunity to work in a professional environment, learning all of the activities that goes on off the field or court. It is rare to be a student-athlete and also work on the other side of things so I’m excited to see what it is like.
Q: How will this internship help you reach your future goals? What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
A: This internship will teach me the ins and outs about the mass communications industry and allow me to get a feel for what it is like to be in a real workplace. I’m hoping to get as much knowledge as I can so that I can use the tools I learn and apply them.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: As a student-athlete I think it is a great opportunity to see what it is like to be working on the other side because you’re not going to be in your sport forever, so it is always good to be prepared for what is next. This internship is a great opportunity for me to see if this is something I truly want to do after I’m done playing football.
Compliance
Samara Miller / Freshman / Track & Field / Law & Society major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: I applied because I want to study sports law and I knew this internship would give me the experience I need for it.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: I want to go to law school and be a sports attorney.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: I’m excited to gain experience in a field that I’m interested in learning more about and having the ability to work with a great group of people I’ve gotten to know through the interview process.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: It’ll be interesting to be included in the process of creating and regulating different things for student-athletes.
John Purdue Club
Gregory Phillips / Senior / Football / Selling & Sales Management major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: I applied for this internship because I want to expand my network by working for Purdue alumni and learning as much as I can. I love and enjoy talking to people and I am anxious to get this journey started as a John Purdue Club intern.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: My career goals are to make it to the NFL and sell in pharmaceutical sales. Also, I want to start my own gym called “Body by G-Phil” because I love training and helping people become a better version of themselves by losing weight that they think they cannot get rid of.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: The people I will meet excites me about this internship because the network is very big.
Q: How will this internship help you reach your future goals? What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
A: This internship with help further my goals as a salesperson because I will be learning how to interact with different customers and people that I have not met before. Overall, my interpersonal skills are going to be sharpened through this internship. I’m hoping to get better feedback on how I can be a more effective salesperson.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: Being a student-athlete, the two key assets to have are prioritizing and time management because it will assist you with having a successful career at Purdue. This is important because there are many distractions in place with being a student-athlete. As a result, staying focused and writing everything down when assigned to you will keep you organized. It’s the small things that make the big difference.
Ticket Office
Wes Cook / Redshirt Senior / Football / Selling & Sales Management major
Q: Why did you apply to the internship program?
A: I applied because I love sports and I am majoring in selling and sales management. Therefore, I think selling sports is right up my alley. I was also already planning on being here in the summer for football.
Q: What excites you about the area you’ll be working in?
A: I’m excited about the real world experience I am going to get with selling tickets and promoting athletics. It will help me in my future career of sales.
Q: How will this internship help you reach your future goals? What are you hoping to get out of this experience?
A: I am hoping to gain experience in selling and believe it or not, I am looking forward to being told no and handling rejections. I want to gain that experience in handling rejection.
Q: As a student-athlete, what are your thoughts about being a part of the other side of the fence, the other side of college athletics?
A: I love my school and love our sports here. I have always been fascinated by how our department puts together everything leading up to our events. I can’t wait to see the struggles and the outcomes of how it is all put together.
News courtesy of Purdue Athletics.
