WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -In April, the Purdue Athletics Department selected six student-athletes to serve as interns in various areas this summer, one each in communications, compliance, John Purdue Club, marketing/fan experience, ticket operations and the John R. Wooden Leadership Institute.
The second-year internship program 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.
Senior outside hitter Annie Drews, a Hotel and Tourism Management major, took a little time away from her workouts and her internship with the Marketing office to update purduesports.com on how everything is going.
How has the first month on the job been going?
So far, so good! I have been traveling with the Big Ten All Stars and preparing for our volleyball summer camps, so I am only in the office probably 3 days a week on average. The flexible schedule has been so helpful, and we have a list of projects to work on and complete when you can, so that is nice.
What, if anything, have you learned through the internship so far?
I have learned that there is always something productive to do, even if it's small. When there's any break or down time, we look at game giveaway options or browse other university's social media to see what we could be adding or changing.
Do you have a new respect or understanding for what goes on behind the scenes in the department?
Absolutely! Every graphic, ticket, brochure, flyer, or promo comes out of this office, and I think a lot of it goes unnoticed until you see it. I was able to design a ticket for a volleyball match this fall, and then we printed and cut hundreds of them- definitely something I think we take for granted!
What is your typical day like? How do you balance your new work schedule with your offseason workouts?
So far, I have spent the first hour and a half in the morning and after lunch outside at an athletics table in engineering mall promoting our Student Boarding Pass ticket package to current and incoming students participating in STAR. Beyond that, I have worked on various projects for the upcoming fall season, such as planning for BGR orientation week, writing an exposure blog for behind the scenes looks at a photoshoot, and compiling ideas and information for events with student sections and season ticket holders. I'm in the school of Hospitality, so I enjoy the organizing and event planning side of things.
Has your internship changed your career plans or made it clearer to you what you might want to do?
I think that this internship is giving me exposure to a skill set that will be valuable in the workplace. I am getting the opportunity to use Photoshop, Illustrator, blog generators, and experience planning for miscellaneous events- all of which are areas that I will be glad to tell future employers that I am willing and able to do for them.