This week’s Collegiate Campus Celebrity is Olinda Montoro, a 2nd semester junior Majoring in Linguistics. She’s also a “Marketeer” for the BU Athletics Department. As one of twelve other sports marketing interns, she works hard to brainstorm ideas and work with athletic department heads to encourage student involvement with regards to athletic events and overall school spirit. As a result she lets her Bearcat spirit roar and works to create an atmosphere that excites and engages students so that we can provide support for all the athletic teams. I sat down with her to get the scoop on how she snagged such a fun and exciting internship.
How did you first find out about the internship and what made you apply?
I found this internship at the career fair, actually. Being heavily involved in sporting events in high school, I thought it would be interesting to approach the athletic departments table and see what opportunities they had. The representative that I spoke to was a supervisor for the sports marketing internship and she informed me of the exciting opportunity to be very active within the student body. I was most excited about how I could play a large role in planning events at games that would make students want to come back for more fun.
What makes your internship different from a typical campus internship?
I like the fact that this internship is very social and interactive. During sporting events we physically go out in the crowd and do market research so we know first-hand what students want to see and do at games. We are also behind the scenes a lot where we help with promotions of local businesses and act as ambassadors.
What did you find surprising about your internship?
I actually did not expect to run out into the stands and put myself in a borderline awkward situation where I had to talk to students and keep pushing for more answers and suggestions. I knew that we would have to do something like that, but maybe through surveys or some online form. At first I was a little intimidated, but now I think it is great that it gets really up-close and personal.
Has your internship impacted the way you look at the athletics department?
I now see the huge efforts put into planning every single event. Meeting several supervisors and talking about how they and their staff play a small role in such a large event puts into perspective how important it is to learn how to work within a team.
Has your internship influenced what you want to do career wise?
I am quickly learning the in and outs of the sports marketing and it is very interesting. We are trying to get people to get up and have fun. Working in groups instead of trying to create a project alone brings a lot of fun to the job as well. It keeps me on my toes and my mind is always running with ideas, which is great because I don’t like repetition very much. Marketing generally does this whether it be a for a product or an organization. This internship is helping me dip my toes into this field of work and I am liking it very much so far.