Written by: David Dapaah-Afriyie

My name is David Dapaah-Afriyie and I am a rising senior at the University of Connecticut, from Attleboro, MA. This past summer, I was fortunate enough to work at Brown University Athletics, as an intern with the Compliance and Facility Operations departments.

My internship opportunity was a product of timely networking at the Sport Management's Annual Career in Sport Night and subsequent interactions with alumnus, Mr. David Longo, who is the current Providence College Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Game Day Management.  Mr. Longo introduced to me Ms. Ann Dwyer and Ms. Bridgette Cahill from Brown’s Facility Operations and Compliance departments and as a result, which led to them creating and co-supervising an individualized multi-faceted internship for me this summer.

This in-depth, hands-on experience, with both facility operations and compliance duties allowed me to engage in—and be exposed to—a myriad of day-to-day assignments that a job within each department entails. This high-activity experience was intellectually stimulating and satisfying: I witnessed how to seamless transition from game-field preparation and supervision to database analysis and synchronization; I was consistently presented with novel problem-solving situations, which I can use towards future decision-making; and I continued my development in professional transferrable skills which broaden my perspective concerning a significant sector of the sport industry.

My internship with Brown provided an incredibly opportunity to further develop my foundational knowledge, as I was able to become intimately aware of collegiate operations to a certain extent. As an individual that seeks to have a well-rounded grasp of the sport industry in totality, being granted the opportunity to become immersed within a realm of the industry is something I will cherish forever.

Written by: Becca Lindblad

My name is Becca Lindblad and this summer I was the Recreation Intern at the Park District of Highland Park in Illinois,IA, which serves a community of 30,000 people. I was very fortunate to obtain this internship because of a connection with the executive director.

I had a very valuable experience which provided me with the opportunity to interface with all levels within the District. Each week I was exposed to a new department in the organization and received first hand knowledge and understanding of their in-house operations including recreation, athletics, camps, special events, fitness, aquatics, golf, administration, finance, marketing, registration, HR, and IT. This internship experience completely took me outside my comfort zone and challenged me in ways that I have never been challenged before. I learned how to be flexible, communicate effectively with different types of people, and gained confidence in skills in new areas. Some highlights include helping assist with their Fourth of July 5K race and getting to be apart of the opening of their brand new golf course. Summer is a busy time for park districts and this experience definitely kept me on my toes!

This internship not only taught me how a park district operates but also the type of work environment that I want to pursue after school. The park district had a very positive culture, strong sense of teamwork and collaboration, and an overall environment where people want to work together and help each other.

Written by: Ivy Kim

My name is Ivy Kim and after being born in California, I grew up in Taiwan. This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work at a startup sport organization, Asia League. Asia League is headquartered in Hong Kong, China. Its core mission is to provide a platform “to raise the level of basketball in Asia through the delivery of high-level club to club basketball tournaments, featuring teams from the top leagues in Asia: CBA (China), KBL (Korea), B. LEAGUE (Japan), PBA (Philippines), SBL (Chines Taipei), and ABL” during the off-season. Asia League is dedicated to enhancing a well-rounded opportunity not only for leagues and teams but also for coaches and referees, which allow them to exchange skills with the intention to support basketball development. Nonetheless, they commit to continual collaborations among leagues, teams, and government stakeholders. This year, Asia League expanded the scale of the tournament and closely collaborated with the Sports Bureau of Macao SAR Government while organizing Summer Super 8 this past July and The Terrific 12 in September.

During my internship, I was involved with many tasks across the board from event management to basketball operations. I assisted in organizing the Summer Super 8 from preparation, execution, all the way to post-event evaluation. Despite the challenge of potential language and cultural barriers, I successfully managed all the equipment in the locker rooms and refreshments in the media center: from ordering, handling payments, to final delivery with the local vendors of Macau. I led the on-site operations, managed inventory, and assisted scoreboard personnel and game commissioners with team rosters and statistics sheets. The week-long tournament allowed me to interact with people from different sectors and backgrounds, all of who collaborated together to make this event possible.

I truly felt that my role as intern was just as important as any other full-time position. Despite the long hours and countless emails and phone calls, I was prepared for the worst and ready to take on any unexpected challenge. I learned to voice my concerns and shared suggestions during meetings.  I appreciated the organization's emphasis on looking out for each other under all circumstances and maintained respectful relationships with collaborating staff and organizations. Ultimately, with all the people I met and tasks I managed during this three-month journey, I plan to carry all these valuable lessons into my senior year at UConn and beyond.

Written by: Alex Rubinfeld

As a rising senior at the University of Connecticut, I made it my goal to find a summer internship that helped challenge me and introduce me to the operations side of the sports industry.  Growing up in Mendham, NJ, I made my New York sports-passion a starting point when looking for internships.  While I did not limit my search to the New England/Tri-State Area, I wanted to find an internship that was located in a big market like New York.  With New York in mind, I came across an application for a summer internship program with an organization called Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment.  Through a fellow Sport Management student relationship with Paul Wetteman, I learned more about the organization's culture and what type of work that I might be getting into, based on what he learned during his internship experience, last summer.  After having an over-the-phone interview with the Talent Acquisition Manager in Human Resources, I was later accepted into the program and would be working in the facility operations department.

Over the course of the ten week program, I was able to gain a plethora of insight from hands-on work, advice from supervisors, and the overall transition of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment to BSE Global. Besides the change of the company title, the organization moved their office location from Metrotech to Sunset Park, Brooklyn, which is located a floor under HSS Nets Training Center. Though, I never saw the old office space, I could tell that the new move brought about a culture change to the organization and its employees.  Transitioning from the cubicle-type space to a modern, open and social space created a friendly environment and proved to be beneficial to my experience in networking/communicating with various departments.

In my position, I was required to oversee and maintain the integrity of the HSS Nets Training Center and BSE Global, which required me to walk around the facility checking the building and equipment for any possible damages or potential harm that may arise in the future.  It was the perfect way to pay close attention to detail as one little problem can lead to a complaint or severely damage the building.  Along with this, I also had the opportunity to assist in the managing of a few of the events staged in BSE Global and HSS Nets Training Center.  In this process, I helped set up, attend to issues or roles during the event, and helped break down the event once it was all over.  The process was very similar to the topics of event conceptualization/planning discussed in Danielle Upham’s course for event management.

With the opportunity to work these events and move throughout the facility, I was able to network with people ranging from personnel in each department to members of the Brooklyn Nets’ and BSE Global’s front office.  Aside from that, our program gave all the interns the opportunity to hear from department heads each week in a speaker series, in which they told us their path to where they are today, and gave us the opportunity to ask them any questions we came up with.  This experience gave me a sense of what working in this industry is like.  And at the same time, I was able to discover the benefit of learning how to take care of a facility on a day-to-day basis.  This summer internship in facility operations has prepared me with many lessons for managing the daily tasks of life, along with the potential of gaining access into fields other than facility operations.  It has opened up my life to a whole new development of ideas, while giving me an enhanced sense of time management, attention to detail, and the conceptualization of various events.

Written by: Olivia Anderson

My name is Olivia Anderson and I am from Fairfield, CT. This summer I had an intern with Westport Parks & Recreation located in Westport, CT, as the Sports Director at Camp Compo, which is located at Compo Beach.  I began this internship in June and worked through August, alongside the program manager, Cyndi Palaia.

During my time in the office, I created manuals, flyers, scheduled field trips, and placed equipment, supply, and uniform orders for summer programming. My task was to get everything ready for the summer camps and only had about one month to make sure everything was ready to go. I called multiple places where we would go on field trips and confirmed dates and details with them. Additionally, I had to schedule buses, create theme and special event days, and organize the contact information for employees. During camp, we would go on field trips around Connecticut and also had on-site events such as hosting a pizza truck, waterslide, carnival day, a magician and a comedy show. Throughout the summer, I learned that it is difficult to work alongside those who are very different from you; however, the main focus is to appreciate what is valued most about the job, and for me that was making sure the kids had fun.  I was motivated to make sure we would have a successful summer. 

I am very fortunate to be able to work for Westport Recreation part-time this fall to begin to learn more about program management within recreation. Although I am not positive if I will take on a future within recreation, I have learned that I love working with youth sport and hope to find something within the sport industry; however, I will not limit my options. I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue to work for Westport Recreation, as it will give me more experience working in and outside of the office, and I will learn a multitude of skills that will further enhance my resume for my future endeavors.

Written by: Emilie Hernandez

My name is Emilie Hernandez and I am from Portland, CT. My summer internship was based out of Naugatuck, CT, with a non-profit organization called Naugatuck Youth Services (NYS), which helps students to be healthy, resilient, and awesome. My official title was “Sport-based Youth Development Intern”. I searched various websites looking for youth-based internships and reached out to Krisitn Mabrouk, the Executive Director for the organization and after sending my resume and a scheduled interview, I got the position. 

Honestly, I have done quite a bit this summer. I started the internship right after the spring semester ended and I jumped right into NYS' after-school programs which included Girls on the Run, Girl’s Circle, the Armory Program, and homework help/cooking class. I also assisted with the planning of the First Friday of Summer Party which offers a safe and exciting night that is substance-free.

Once school got out we started the Summer Lounge program which I was directly in charge of, every Tuesday-Thursday from 1-5pm. I took care of scheduling engaging and fun activities that promoted what NYS stands for: being healthy, resilient, and awesome. We scheduled yoga classes (for mindfulness), METAFITNESS classes (which offered an alternative form of working out that was high energy and fun for all the kids), introduced them to Marathon Kids (which sets goals of walking/running a marathon over a 6 week period) and scheduled guest speakers from various industries and backgrounds.

My internship supervisor is also a volunteer coordinator for REV3 Triathlon and the Pat Griskus Triathlon Sprint. I was in charge of helping her distribute t-shirts, coordinate and assign tasks to volunteers, and supervise the kids during the events. The triathlons we volunteered at were extremely positive and all the runners always thanked the kids for coming out and cheering and volunteering. I learned how much goes into actually planning a sporting event and how it is very different than taking a class versus actually having to do the planning. I have also learned that the sport industry is filled with some pretty amazing people, both athletes and employees. The people I have met through NYS are all amazingly dedicated to helping the underserved youth in the community and giving them a positive place to go.

My internship at Naugatuck Youth Services has really solidified that I want to work in youth development. It was amazing to watch how the kids’ attitudes changed after participating in yoga, or alternative sports. I knew I wanted to work with youth and this enhanced that feeling. It also really taught me how to be a leader while still being a mentor. I am excited to be taking a sport-based youth development class to further my knowledge on how sport can help kids become healthy, resilient, and awesome and to see how sport is used as a vehicle to breakdown barriers.

Written by: Autumnsarah Foster-Pagett

My name is Autumnsarah Foster-Pagett and I am from Brooklyn, NY. This summer I had the privilege of being a Premium Events Intern with BSE Global which is based out of my hometown.

BSE Global is a company consisting of several entities including the Brooklyn Nets, Long Island Nets, Barclays Center, and more. I was connected with the Chief Experience Officer of the organization through my mom, who works at Barclays Center. From there, the CEO connected me with the employee engagement director, who reviewed my resume and did a phone interview with me. A few weeks later, I was offered the position.

For the duration of my internship I assisted the premium events/hospitality team, with any and all tasks asked of me. This included updating the team calendar with upcoming events, using the Billboard Lounge to host an event for the NBA Draft, planning the employee birthday lunch on my own, creating the client itinerary for NBA Summer League in Vegas, and much more. While in this position I was able to learn a lot about how to problem solve in a fast-paced environment and how to effectively communicate within an organization of over 291 employees. I was also able to sit in on important meetings with my director, such as the annual Nets Practice in the Park event and conference calls with potential partners. As a result, I have been able to meet some incredible people which included executive officers in the organization and professionals in the sport and entertainment industry who serve on the company advisory board.

My internship as the Premium Events Intern at BSE Global has really allowed me to learn what it is like to work with such an established organization, while balancing the operations for six different entities. I went into the internship knowing that I wanted a career in sport and entertainment, but as a result of my experience, I feel very strongly about my future thanks to the amazing people that I met along the way. I am now looking forward to taking my learning experiences with me into my senior year at UConn as I continue to be a student manager for the women’s basketball team and begin my role as the Sports Promotion Chairwoman for SUBOG.

Written by: Noa Silverstein

My name is Noa Silverstein and I am originally from West Hartford, CT. One of the reasons why I chose to attend UConn was for their incredible athletics program and Sport Management program. The summer after freshman year, I began working for the UConn Men’s Soccer program in Storrs, CT. Having the opportunity to work with a Division I (DI) collegiate program has been a dream come true. Not only have I gotten hands on experience, but I have also started to learn the insides of how a college sports organization works and how a DI sports team operates. 

I first got in touch with the UConn Men's Soccer office through a family friend where we discussed my interest in getting experience in the sport management field before applying to the program.  At the beginning of the spring semester of my freshman year, I scheduled a meeting and interview with UConn's coach, Ray Reid. Coach offered me a job to work in the office and I was thrilled! Since then, I have been working there ever since.

This past summer, I worked for both the Ray Reid Soccer School and the UConn Men’s Soccer program. In each of those positions, I had very different tasks ranging from mailings to spreadsheets to clinics. In the office, I learned how important mailings are. They get the information out to people who may have not been aware of events or things happening that pertain to the program. However during the soccer school, I worked on writing up the schedule for the next day and I served as the contact person who took care of the logistics for the camp in conjunction with the coaching staff at the camp in Avon, CT.

One of the events I worked on this summer was our annual golf tournament. Although I was abroad for most of the planning stages of the event, I was active in the execution of the event and the last minute touches. What was really cool about seeing this event happen was seeing the support the program has. Getting to talk with some of the donors and network was a great opportunity and I really appreciated hearing how much they enjoy UConn soccer. Another major project that I worked on towards the middle of the summer was preparing for pre-season. A lot goes into making sure that the coaches and players are all ready for the upcoming year.

One of the major things I have learned this summer was there are never any shortcuts while getting the job done.  Although each of my projects were different, the overarching theme centered around promoting the UConn Men’s Soccer program. Whether it was through mailings, phone calls, fundraisers or spreadsheets, we were always doing it for the good of the program and to advance the program. This internship gave me the opportunity to learn and be apart of a Division I athletics program and learn how to run a sports camp; everyday I learned something new! I would love to take the skills I have learned here and combine them with my passion for policy and politics and one day be able to work for a professional sports league or team while working on the policy side of sport.

Written by: Christopher Mullen

My name is Christopher Mullen and I am from Cheshire, CT. I worked this past summer as an intern for Husky Sport which is based out of Storrs, CT.  Husky Sport is a community-campus partnership that engages with partners located in Hartford, CT. I had the privilege of working with two community partners, Fred D. Wish School and the Hartford Catholic Worker in addition to my time in the office, on campus.

I began the summer at the Hartford Catholic Worker House, which is also referred to as the "Green House" where I worked with their after-school program until late June, when school came to an end. I then resumed working as a program leader for their summer camp beginning in early July. During this time I worked on a few small projects like constructing a four-square court and a volleyball court for the children to learn more about and enjoy. Prior to school getting out, I also assisted Wish's Physical Education teacher, Ms. Nelson, with her daily gym classes. I learned a lot on how to structure classes from Ms. Nelson, and by the end of the year, she invited me to share my own ideas for activities and I even got to run my own classes. The Wish School has students from grades pre-kindergarten to eight, which gave me experience working with a wide range of ages.

My favorite part of working at the school was the field day, where students were split up by grade and mixed into groups that combined current Fred D. Wish students and students from another local school, in an effort to meet new friends.  The goal of field day was that each student would make an effort to become friends with someone from the opposite school while playing all the fun field games together.

On the days that I wasn't programming, I spent time in the office on campus. I helped create a project which provides  school teachers a list of games on what's called “activity menus” and is intended to help teachers generate ideas while getting the kids active.  Each menu offered a structured play idea, game suggestions and the rules. Games include both inside and outside space options, as well as a variety of age appropriate modifications to satisfy kindergarten through eighth grade students. I also utilized Adobe In-Design in coordination with program leaders, graduate assistants and other staff members to publish end-of-the-year program reports for each of Husky Sport programs. Finally, I had the opportunity to engage in a number of fundraising efforts to close out this past semester’s Ignite Fundraiser and prepare for next year’s upcoming plans.

I am very fortunate to have had such a unique position created for me with an organization that I have come to love so much. Through this opportunity I learned the importance of communication and how rewarding it can be working with children and with that, the patience that it requires. I am also glad to have had the chance to work behind the scenes in more of an administrative role. The balance was amazing and I would like to find a career where I can utilize a similar engagement style. One of my proudest takeaways is that I was able to learn the Adobe In-Design program when responsible for coordinating the publishing of the Husky Sport program reports. This exposed me to a lot of graphic designing and how visual presentation can impact how media is interpreted. This is something that I hope to explore further in my career in sports marketing. I aspire to pursue a position working with the best and brightest professionals to help build some of the most powerful brands and marketing to consumers. As a young professional, I am eager to learn all there is to know about the sports industry.

Written by: Brian Wolfe

My name is Brian Wolfe and I am from Old Lyme, CT. I recently had a full-time internship with the Connecticut Cycling Advancement Program (CCAP), working as their Events Director. The CCAP is a non-profit organization based out of Middletown, CT, and serves as the youth cycling league of Connecticut. I obtained this position after working seasonally for the CCAP for two years prior to the summer and therefore was able to build upon my connections.

Serving as the events director for the organization provided me with experiences and exposure to most aspects of the sport industry, including marketing, sales, operations, management, and more. I stayed in-state for the entirety of the internship and worked on over 15 events from small school series mountain bike races, to large-scale races and fundraising rides all across the state. I worked with operations in multiple races which consisted of placing cones, setting up course tape, and setting up the tenting area. Additionally, I gained experience in a management role which required me to direct volunteers and staff at events.

The high level of responsibility that came with this position ultimately tested my ability to navigate the sport industry, specifically the cycling industry. In my position, I was often placed in a leadership role which provided me with valuable insight on my leadership style and how to adjust my style to be most effective. I also learned that working in events is fun - I love the reward that comes at the end of an event and having the ability to see the moving parts of production come together. I plan to continue to pursue a career in sport events in any style, from a football game to the x-games; as long as I’m in events, I’m happy.