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.
Junior women's tennis player Nicole Robinson, a mass communication major, took a little time away from her workouts and her internship with the Athletics Communications office to update purduesports.com on how everything is going.
How has the first month on the job been going?
The first month in the Communications Office has been going great. I've had projects to work on constantly that involve all aspects, including video, writing and editing, so I've had a chance to dip into all areas. There hasn't been much down time at the job which has been great. There is so much to do to prepare for the sports in the coming year.
What have you learned through the internship so far?
I have learned how to use new editing programs for the website, how to create web newsletters, how to work the camera behind the scenes and how to be a successful interviewer in front of the camera. Also, I have been picking up on new media ideas for the year and how in this department you have to be constantly on your toes with new thoughts to keep the public intrigued while endorsing our student-athletes.
Do you have a new respect or understanding for what goes on behind the scenes in the department?
I have gained a deeper understanding for what really goes on behind the scenes here. As a student-athlete and a part of the fan base for other sports, I just see the final results of videos, articles, pictures, interviews, etc., but now behind the scenes I see how much time and effort, as well as good organization, goes into creating the sharp final cut the public sees. There are so many little details that go into the work done in this department that people on the outside would never realize are necessary.
What is your typical day like? How do you balance your new work schedule with your offseason workouts?
I came into this summer knowing it was going to be difficult to balance work, training and classes, but I am able to manage it fairly well. My day starts out by going to treatments at 8 a.m. and then I have work from either 9 to 12 or 9 to 1. Then I head straight to strength training. Once I'm done with conditioning or weights, I head off to a two-hour practice at the courts, which entails another 30 minutes or so of stretching and taking an ice bath afterwards. I finally get home around 6 or 7 p.m. every day and then start to work on my two online classes. I don't have much free time for myself, but I enjoy staying busy and active, being productive at all hours of the day.
Has your internship changed your career plans or made it clearer to you what you might want to do?
My internship here has made it clearer of what I want to do in the future. I want to stick with sports information and media relations for larger sports once I graduate. I really enjoy the production and broadcasting part of the job, so I wish to pursue that once I graduate while being in the center of all the action. I also love writing, which will help me in any field as I continue my journey in the sports communications world.