Marie Alton - Communication/ National Sports Center

Marie Alton

By Jaquelyn Wegmann

Marie Alton is a senior Communication major.  Last summer she interned at the National Sports Center in Blaine, MN.

What drew you to this internship?

I really love sports information work.  This internship allowed me to use my experience with sports writing as well as add new experiences such as working directly with the media and running a golf media day event.

What did you do to get your internship?

I spent last spring searching and applying to several different internships in public relations and journalism areas.  I learned about this internship looking through the internship information at the Career Resource Center.  I found the application on the National Sports Center website and sent it in.

Describe a typical day.

Everyday was different.  Some days I spent a lot of time on the phone with media pitching stories; others I spent writing news releases or preparing the Schwan's USA Cup media guide.  On other days, I wrote stories for various publications.  I don't think any day I worked was the same as another day.

What was the highlight of your internship?

My favorite week of the internship was working the Schwan's USA Cup.  I put in a lot of hours that week, but it was so much fun watching great soccer and meeting neat people from all over the world!  Each day I was able to write stories about teams, coaches, and tournament staff, as well as keep statistics at the national team games and I was able to write game stories on the final day of championship games.  I talked to coaches and players from countries such as England and Scotland.  It was also fun to just buzz around in my golf car and check out some great soccer action.

What were the challenges of the internship?

One of the biggest challenges was having to be very patient to get things completely finished.  Each project I did, I was either depending on information from somebody else or needing them to proof my work before the final touches were made.  Many times I had to be a pest in order to keep things on time and get my projects finished.

How was the internship helpful to you?

The internship was very valuable because I was able to see my work from the beginning stages to the completion.  It was exciting to see that I actually played an important role and that my work was the real thing--no on else was doing it for me.  As an intern, I had a lot of responsibilities assigned to me for some large events.  As a media intern, I made over 200 media guides and helped run the media center where various print, radio and television media came to cover the to USA CUP each day.  I also was a reporter who went out and covered stories each day for the Soccer America newspaper and would come back and write them by a 5 p.m. deadline.  At the end of the internship I also ran a media day at Victory Links Golf Course and was successful in getting the golf writers from both the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press to come, as well as about 30 other media people.

What skills do you develop/enhance?

I enhanced my sports writing skills and love for working with sports media, which is the experience I brought into the internship.  I also developed the skills necessary to work directly with the media when they come to cover an event or call asking for some information or leads for a possible story.  With this internship, I was able to work with the media in ways I had never before experienced.

What advice would you give to students seeking internships?

Internships are a great way to find out if you really enjoy working in a certain area.  Pick something that you can see yourself excelling at and having fun with.  It is a great way to get your name out there and a great thing to have on your resume.  Be open to a variety of possibilities.