By Glory Norman
Player Engagement Intern
For many American young people, summer is the best time of the year. As a kid, I enjoyed spending the time off from school swimming at the beach, going to sleepaway camp and relaxing with friends and family. However, as you transition to high school and college, it is smart to take advantage of the opportunity to use your summer as more than just a break from school and a time to spend with friends. A summer internship is a positive and productive experience that will help you make the most of your time off. I had my first internship the summer after my sophomore year at Yale when I interned at a sports agency and I’m building on that experience this summer (my last before I graduate) by interning at the NFL League Office.
You can find internships in almost any industry, from finance, to journalism, to the non-profit sector. Even industries that may not immediately come to mind when thinking about a traditional internship experience often have summer opportunities for high school and college students. I have friends who have interned at eco-resorts, city agencies that work with local youth, tech companies and sports management firms. If there is an industry that interests you, search online for firms that offer internship positions in your city or do some research on some of the different companies working in that industry and reach out to a few via email. Some companies have existing internship programs while others might be interesting in creating a position for a willing and qualified applicant, so don’t hesitate to initiate contact with a company the interests you even if they have not offered a formal program in the past.
As the current intern with the Player Engagement department at the NFL League Office in New York, I’ve been lucky enough to work with the fantastic Player Engagement team on several projects this summer. The mission of Player Engagement is to have a positive impact on the values and culture displayed inside and outside the NFL family while continuing to promote a culture of excellence that enhances and inspires personal and professional growth of players and their families, before, during, and beyond their NFL Experience. Over the past two months, I’ve been a part of that mission, working on Player Engagement’s PREP Academy, Rookie Symposium (I spent a week onsite on Ohio helping to run that event) and the upcoming Bridge to Success program. I’ve also had the opportunity to sit in on departmental strategy meetings and have gained real life exposure to how business decisions are made in an organization with substantial cultural influence.
There are about 30 summer interns here at the League Office this year, and in addition to working on projects with our respective groups, we all have the opportunity to attend departmental presentations about once a week during which a representative from each NFL business division speaks to us about what his or her department does and gives us the opportunity to have any questions we might have offered. Through these sessions, I’ve gotten a unique perspective into the inner workings of the sport that I love and I’ve had the opportunity to network and meet with senior employees across different divisions and hear about the paths their careers have taken.
Spending a couple of months working in a field of interest has helped me to develop relevant skill sets while connecting with individuals who currently work in this industry. My experience has also assisted me in refining both my long-term career goals and short-term academic plan. Starting to think about what internship opportunities you might like to pursue early in college, or even during high school will give you a leg up on the competition and will help you to begin to develop the skills and connections that will lead to career success later on.