含羞草传媒 University students Raven Shirley and Nick Lee are passionate about sports so when two internships to help coordinate the state鈥檚 largest amateur sports festival became available, they eagerly jumped at the opportunity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 gratifying now to look back and see how all of the labor and legwork came together,鈥 said Nick Lee, a 2011 含羞草传媒 graduate from Lee鈥檚 Summit, Mo.
Lee majored in sport management while at 含羞草传媒. He鈥檚 considering a career in facility management.
Lee was joined by senior political communication major Raven Shirley and together they interned this summer for the Nebraska Sports Council. The Council organizes the Cornhusker State Games.
Shirley was responsible for organizing 鈥淥lympic Day,鈥 held each June in more than 250 U.S. cities and 160 countries. The event commemorates the birth of modern day Olympic games and promotes fitness and healthy lifestyles. Nebraska鈥檚 鈥淥lympic Day鈥 coincided with the final leg of the Cornhusker State Games torch run, which Lee coordinated.
This year鈥檚 Olympic Day included a visit by former track and field Olympian Carol Frost who visited a Lincoln YMCA and led nearly 200 children in a workout. Frost participated in radio interviews, talked with local dieticians, and threw out the first pitch at a Lincoln Saltdogs baseball game.
鈥淚 learned great time management skills and improved my own communication skills,鈥 said Shirley, who is from Percival, Iowa. 鈥淏ut one of the coolest parts of my internship was actually seeing what I鈥檝e learned in my communication classes come to life in the real world.鈥
In addition to organizing Olympic Day, Shirley visited numerous sporting events in the Lincoln area to promote the Cornhusker State Games. She was also responsible for planning an opening reception for the games.
Lee was responsible for coordinating the torch run 鈥 a 1,100-mile trek from the Wyoming border to the streets of Lincoln. Lee helped plan everything from acquiring sponsorships, picking routes across the state, coordinating runners to carry the torch and selecting a mystery torch runner to bring the torch into Seacrest Field on opening night of the games. He worked continuously with the Nebraska State Patrol, Department of Roads, sheriff鈥檚 departments and others to make sure the 26-day torch run was flawless.
鈥淚t was a constant challenge just to keep all of the plans updated because they would change by the hour,鈥 said Lee. 鈥淚t was a good lesson in working with so many other people. It was great to see it all come together.鈥
Shirley admits some might wonder if an internship with a sports organization falls in line with her political communication major.
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 one of the reasons I came to 含羞草传媒 because the programs of study were so well rounded,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e really enjoyed the marketing and event planning and I think that it may be a career path I want to pursue. Without this internship I may not have realized that.鈥