As part of the Texas Sports and Media Certificate program, each student is required to find an internship related in some way to sports. For me, I looked at it as less of a requirement and more of an opportunity to earn credit for exploring ways in which I could turn my passion for sports into a career.
I started the search process last fall, knowing that there were already plenty of applications available for summer internships.The sports industry is a massive one and my first step was to figure out where in that world I wanted to work. There were plenty of sports journalism internships available at local newspapers and online media companies, but I wanted something a little different, something that would allow me to explore my passion for both social justice and sports.
After hours of scouring the internet for something that would pique my interest, I finally came across PeacePlayers International on an organization database on www.sportanddev.org. Reading PeacePlayers’ mission “to unite, educate and inspire young people in divided communities through basketball,” I knew this was an organization I could see myself working for. I found an application for a development and communications internship on their website, but that posting made it clear they were looking for an intern much older than someone who would only just be finishing their sophomore year at the internship’s start date. Yet I knew that, despite my age, I had the skills and experience to be a great fit. Within a couple days, I had a cover letter acknowledging my age but pointing out my capabilities, my resume, and responses to their short answer questions into PeacePlayers.
After a phone interview in December and an in-person interview at their Washington, DC headquarters over winter break, I was offered the internship in March.
I am ecstatic to see what I can learn from and contribute to this amazing organization when I head over to DC at the end of May to begin my summer internship!