The first week of my internship experience I learned even more about what I would be doing, specifically with my mentor. The most exciting part I anticipated at this time was that I would get the opportunity to attend Athletic Director (AD) Team meetings. Since this is the role I aspired to attain in the near future, I was excited to learn that I would attend all regular meetings. A part of my role in these meetings is to not only take notes but to contribute and I realize that my opinions will be valued during this venture because of my experience.
I also learned that I would meet with head coaches to discuss and update each other on campus events, learn what’s going on with the team (i.e. injuries, concerns, etc.). Since I love to work with student athletes having been a student athlete myself, I was excited to be a part of supporting student athletes. A part of how I will support student athletes will include signing up for classes, tutoring, mentoring, conducting class checks to ensure students were in class when they were supposed to be, advise and coach, monitor study tables, some proctoring of exams and generally student check-ins. Additional duties will include helping to promote events such as upcoming games and other special events, reaching out to alumni to raise money. While I have been an academic advisor in the past and even run an advisor department in higher education in a Director role, I will get practical experience for how it works in the world of college athletics. In this setting, academic advising is all about reviewing how the students are doing, discussing if they are attending study tables, have registered for classes, provide academic tips, ensure preparation for tests, address concerns and challenges, and schedule tutoring as needed. I attended my first Athletic Director meeting today. In this meetings I primarily learned about the department’s focus on promotion and marketing of the athletic department through games (of course), running special promotions for game tickets to get higher attendance and other special events. There is a big focus on the business side of athletics in these meetings to ensure the department is generating enough revenue to sustain itself and grow. This is what helped the school later move to Horizon League because they promoted events and proved that they can support a strong fan base, an important part of a successful athletic program. I not only enjoy working with students but also enjoy working and focusing on the business side of things, which is why an Athletic Director position is my dream job; the perfect position for me to best utilize my strengths. I truly believe I will get there in due time.
Sunday Study Tables
When finals are closing in for students, extra support is provided to students (from an academic perspective) in the form of study tables and tutoring. Study tables are in the evenings. M-R (4-10 p.m.) Sunday (4-9pm) and until midnight during finals time and this was the beginning of finals weeks. One of my roles as a part of this experience is to monitor to ensure students get their required hours in, provide tutoring if needed, or take students to the math or writing lab when necessary. Students are also required to attend study tables for a certain number of hours so I am there to monitor to ensure students attend as stated. Students are required to log-in and someone from the academic department is always there to ensure they are there as stated in the system. I included an outline of study table requirements in the projects section of this website. I have a lot of experience with students and I have to say that one of the my favorite things about this experience is helping students figure out their passion and path as a student athlete and I get to do some of this during study tables and tutoring time with the students athletes. I love to connect with the students outside of the rigorous aspect of their student career. I love the idea of working in a college athletic department more than working in the field of professional sports and this experience confirmed that for me. The first day of my mentorship experience was more of a meet and greet opportunity. I met with my mentor, the Associate Athletic Director of Academics to discuss the internship requirements and to discuss my goals while volunteering at the university. I met the entire team, including Max Miller, Director of Basketball Academics, George Davis, Academic Advisor and Autumn Monaghan, Academic Coordinator. My first observation was that there is a small team supporting academics for a rather large population of 410 student athletes who are a part of 18 varsity team; a large job for a small staff.
At this point I thought this would be an invaluable experience because it aligns with my passion to work with student athletes and would give me exposure to the work to gain more direct experience. My first official work day was March 5, 2017. |