June 19, 2015
By Jerome Boettcher
When David Williams graduated from college, he already had a pretty busy resume to show off to future employers.
His college summers were spent working — one year at the Chrysler automotive plant, the next on a Coca-Cola delivery truck and another at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant. Those jobs proved to be invaluable for Williams after his track career ended at Northern Michigan University.
Therefore, as Vanderbilt’s athletic director, he wants Commodore student-athletes to have similar work experiences that will give them a leg up after graduation when their playing careers end.
“You can call all of them and they can’t tell you if I’d be a good teacher or social worker but they can tell you I know about coming to work,” Williams said. “I know about being there on time. You build up that record, you build up that resume as strange as it may be.”
Vanderbilt student-athletes now have the opportunity to get a taste of work life through a summer internship program.
The program, which started in June, pairs athletes with employers from around Nashville for at least 20 hours a week. The unpaid, not for credit internships range from one to two months. More than 40 businesses jumped on board to offer internships to 62 student-athletes from nine sports, including bowling, football, men’s and women’s basketball, track and field, men’s and women’s tennis, soccer and swimming.
“It was a big push from the administration to really help develop the whole student-athlete while they’re here and make sure they are prepared for after they leave Vanderbilt, whenever their sport ends,” said Alison Wenzel, the Assistant Director of Student Services for Life Skills and Community Outreach. “We appreciate all the employers who have signed on to be a part of the program and invest time in developing our student-athletes professionally.”
In addition to the internships, every Friday this summer, program participants will attend workshops conducted by the Center for Student Professional Development. The sessions range from discussing resumes and cover letters to narrowing in on a career path to how to network to interview techniques to job search strategies.
At the end of the summer, all of the student-athletes will have to present a five-minute presentation about their internships experience to the rest of their peers.
“Everyone talks about the student-athlete experience; David Williams is actually showing that it really matters,” said Alan Young, a former Vanderbilt football player who is the CEO of Nashville-based Armor Concepts. “David Williams is really showing that it really matters. This program shows they actually care that their student-athletes, when they graduate, are going to be prepared for the real world.”
Young helped kick start the initial internship program a year ago that benefited 28 football players. As a board member of Nashville’s chapter of EO, an international entrepreneurial organization, Young had connections with a multitude of companies in the area. He reached out to Mason, Williams and associate athletic director Kevin Colon to help offer paid internships with EO member businesses.
This summer, Williams wanted to expand the program. In order to implement unpaid internships but still have the university pay for the student-athletes’ housing and meals during the summer, Williams and Vanderbilt applied and received a waiver from the NCAA.
Once that was approved, pitching unpaid internships became a lot easier.
“The concept was if we could house the kids and pay their board,” Williams said, “could we then go to people and say, `All I want you to do is give them the experience. You don’t have to pay them.’ Overwhelming response. So they’re getting that experience.”
For Torey Agee, the experience is long awaited.
A junior on the football team, Agee was chomping at the bit to delve into his internship with The Next Door. Located just minutes from campus, the non-profit organization offers transitional housing to women ex-offenders and those overcoming addiction.
Agee is a psychology major who plans to attend graduate school for clinical psychology. The internship has allowed him to work with the center’s clinical team, sit in on counseling sessions, view the admissions process and mentor the women’s children.
“It is giving me actual work experience,” he said. “It really gives us a good chance to get some experience in the work force. I want to help people. I want to be the one out there on the clinical side of things, diagnosing people, trying to find them help and getting them better instead of sitting in a lab all day.”
The athletics administration tried to match student-athletes up with businesses that correspond to their educational and career interests.
Those interested in politics, for example, are working on several Nashville mayoral campaigns with the election in August. Skyler Carpenter (women’s track) and Lydia Simmons (soccer) both are pursuing careers in nursing so they are interning at the West End Women’s Health Center. Hannah Martin of the swimming team wants to become a veterinarian. She is working with Walden’s Puddle, which provides care and treatment to injured and sick Tennessee wildlife. Football teammates Darrius Sims and Latevius Rayford, both interested in communications careers, are working for Young at Armor Concepts, which provides door security and kick-in protection for homes.
Williams eventually wants to grow the program so that instead of four years of summer school, two years will be spent as interns. He hopes as they enter their senior year, they’ll be able to receive a paid internship.
“The department has done a really good job at coaching them up (on) this is what your employers are going to expect and this is the level of professionalism,” Young said. “They’re coming in and they’re expecting to work and expecting to learn. As a fan you see the guys on the field, but you don’t really understand these are smart kids with a lot of talent outside of what they can do playing football. We have companies actually getting to see that firsthand. I really think it is going to give these kids a big leg up when it comes to getting jobs.”
