Marketing major Ella Williams ’25 gained firsthand experience in sports marketing during her internship with Boston College’s athletic marketing department. From organizing game-day events to engaging fans and driving ticket sales, she played a key role in ensuring successful athletic experiences. While the internship ultimately led her to rethink a long-term career in sports marketing, it provided her with essential industry insights and strengthened her professional skill set, which will transfer to future opportunities.
What was your internship & what were your primary responsibilities?
I worked at Boston College in their athletic marketing department. I would participate in preparing game day events, including fan engagement activities. I worked on game days for football and volleyball, ensuring the smooth execution of events and themes, and also contributed to sales and outreach efforts.
How did your internship relate to your major or career goals?
I got behind-the-scenes insights into what was involved with preparing game days and different fan engagement strategies. I was also given a project where I needed to identify organizations where we could market specific games and sell them tickets.
Can you describe a project you worked on during your internship that you found particularly challenging or rewarding?
I would make game-day scripts for the announcers to read to present specific game-day highlight players or themes of the game. I was also given a sales role to reach out to new and existing attendees to encourage them to return to basketball games.
What skills did you develop or improve during your internship?
This work helped develop my ability to make cold calls and network with colleagues in other departments to learn about different areas of the company and identify potential growth opportunities.
How did your internship help you understand the industry or field you're interested in?
It helped me understand the importance of organization, preparation, and communication when planning for an event.
What was the most surprising thing you learned during your internship?
It was surprising to learn about the different areas of budgeting in D1 sports marketing and the connections with donors.
How did the internship environment compare to your expectations of a professional workplace?
I was relieved that it was a relaxed work environment and was surprised that it was a small office with only six employees.
Did your internship help you confirm or reassess your career path or aspirations?
Although I loved my internship, it did make me realize that I don't see myself working in sports. I saw how time-consuming those jobs are, and that they require long days and often take time away from days off.
Were any specific courses or knowledge from your major particularly useful during your internship?
Having previously taken a course that walks you through Excel was very helpful, as I had to use that program throughout my internship. I also had to communicate with many people in different departments, so the communications classes I took were also useful.
How will this internship impact your future job prospects or academic pursuits?
My experience preparing and executing events on game days strengthened my organizational and communication skills, which will impact my future job prospects.