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Inside Hokie Sports
What do marketing and promotions,
nutrition, fundraising and photography all
have in common? In addition to being essential
elements of a well-run athletics department,
they are also just a few of the areas in which
Virginia Tech student-athletes can gain
experience as part of the Hokie L.E.A.D.
Internship Program.
In 2015, the Office of Student-Athlete
Development created the Hokie L.E.A.D.
Internship Program, with the intention of
providing student-athletes interested in careers
in intercollegiate athletics the opportunity to
gain experience in an environment that was
understanding of their academic and athletics
schedules. L.E.A.D.—which stands for Learn,
Experience, Achieve and Develop—provides
real-world experiences over a 10-week period
during the summer.
This year’s program began May 30 and
concluded the first week of August. The 2017
cohort consisted of six student-athletes,
including football player Coleman Fox, who
spent his summer working with the Hokie Club.
Fox, a junior pursuing a degree in finance, was
interested in finding an internship that would
coincide with summer classes and training.
He saw the internship as an opportunity to
gain experience toward his career goal of
obtaining a finance position within the wealth
management sector.
Cross country runners Brent Musselman
and Peter Seufer interned with sports nutrition
Group of
Tech athletes
participate in
Hokie
L.E.A.D.
Internship Program
by
Reyna Gilbert-Lowy
, senior associate AD for student-athlete development
and marketing and promotions, respectively.
As a human nutrition, foods and exercise
science major, Musselman applied to the
program to gain experience toward his career
goal of becoming a physical therapist. Gaby
Senties and Jaila Tolbert, both members of the
volleyball team, participated in the internship
program as well. Senties spent time honing
her photography and editing skills with Dave
Knachel, senior director of photography
and design, while Tolbert interned within
marketing and promotions.
“This internship program interested me
because of the opportunity to gain career
experience,” Tolbert said. “As student-athletes,
we are so busy and don’t get a chance, or have
the same opportunities, as other students.
Being an athlete in a team sport, you have to
be able to take into account people’s emotions
and energy. Getting to work with the other
marketing interns and working with a lot of
different people allowed me to incorporate
some of the skills I’ve learned through sports.”
Sydney Steinberg interned with the Office
of Student-Athlete Development and brought
a unique perspective as a Division II lacrosse
player at The University of Virginia’s College
at Wise. The Blacksburg native spent two
weeks last summer assisting with new student-
athlete orientation and returned for the full 10
weeks this summer to gain more experience. A
business administration major with a minor in
communications, Steinberg hopes to narrow
down what career path she would like to
pursue post-graduation and believes the Hokie
L.E.A.D. Internship Program will assist her in
doing just that.
“I wanted to take my experiences from
UVA Wise, incorporate them into my summer
internship and bring back what I learned this
summer at Virginia Tech,” Steinberg said. “I
wanted to take those experiences back toWise.”
When she returns to Wise in mid-August,
Steinberg will play an active role in her campus’
Student Government Association and also will
serve as the vice president for the Student
Activities Board.
The internship program not only exposed
student-athletes to careers in intercollegiate
athletics, but also offered networking and
professional development opportunities. The
cohort was required to attend bi-monthly
professional development workshops, which
were facilitated by select staff members
from
within
the
department.
Kelsey
Appleton, associate director in strategic/
social communications, addressed the group
about social media responsibility. The group
also learned how to identify and effectively
communicate transferable skills from Shelby
Miller, director of student-athlete development.
In addition, the group learned how to integrate
experiences from the internship into their
resume from Natalie Forbes, senior director in
student-athlete development, and interns were
required to complete Clifton StrengthsFinder,
an online assessment that provided insights
into their strengths.
Summer internships can provide an ideal
opportunity for students to learn more about
career fields in which they are interested, and
evenmore importantly, learn about themselves.
The opportunity for these student-athletes to
gain experience in their own backyard was just
icing on the cake!
,
C.E.C.
www.Pro f es s i o
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