Student Highlights Importance Of Sport Management Internships

Greta Swift, a sophomore sport management major from Chittenango, New York, shared her internship experiences with attendees the 2016 Dean’s Development Council. Swift will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in the spring of 2018. She also plans on getting her MBA and eventually a doctorate in sport management.

Swift currently works for Learfield Sports as a Texas A&M Sport Property Assistant. She is also involved with an undergraduate research study that inquires about the process of adding a sport to a school’s NCAA-sponsored sport listing.

Since her freshman year at Texas A&M, Swift has participated in three sport management sponsored internship programs. She interned with the FCS Championship game in January 2015 and 2016, as a marketing intern for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in December 2015 and as an intern for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in April 2016.

What impact did your internships have on your growth/development?

Working for the NCAA Final Four and other internships taught me that my education is valuable in this industry. This was a maturing point for me because prior to these internships, I treated my education like another thing on my to-do list. It was just another series of tasks I had to complete in order to satisfy my parents and move forward with my life. Through these internships, I realized that acquiring my education was absolutely essential to success in my desired career. If I want to have a job I enjoy I realized I have to work hard in school to earn these positions. Essentially, I learned that education is my gateway to a satisfactory career. Not only have these internships motivated me to excel in my learning, they also have given me the opportunity to network and get to know sport industry professionals who embody the characteristics that enable success in the business. The people I’ve met have acted as role models for me. For example, I met Carrie Snyder, a NCAA Final Four Employee, who was charged with coordinating and executing the entire event. She presented herself to be hardworking, structured, businesslike, organized and sharp. She was quick on her feet and prepared when unforeseen issues appeared. She was an excellent problem solver and that’s what I now aspire to be.

Read more about Swift’s internships on Transform Lives.