Aug. 16, 2017
Each summer, Vanderbilt’s athletic department places a number of student-athletes with employers in Nashville for unpaid internships that run for at least 20 hours a week. The Commodores’ internship program is the most comprehensive of its kind in college athletics.
In 2017, a total of 85 student-athletes took part in Vanderbilt’s internship program. Each was asked to provide written reflections on the experience at the end of the summer. VUCommodores.com compiled several of the student-athletes’ internship wrap-ups below.
Eun Sol Chon
Junior, Women’s Swimming
Internship: neuroscience/psychology research lab
This summer, I worked as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Sohee Park’s neuroscience/psychology research lab at Vanderbilt University, continuing my lab work from the 2016-17 school year.
The neuroscience field – along with most other fields of medicine and science – is consistently changing, for there are always new discoveries and technologies being utilized by different labs in the nation and beyond. I was able to gain a firsthand experience in such changes by working in Dr. Park’s lab.
Our lab focused on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We bring in patients and non-patients (controls) alike to participate in our experiments and studies. My job as an undergraduate researcher was to familiarize myself with the content and intent of the study itself and learn to properly conduct the study. Some of the tasks were relatively easy, such as reviewing the consent form with each participant, while other tasks were more difficult and required more training, such as administering virtual reality tasks and thoroughly being able to explain each part of the study to the participants. As an undergrad, I also had the responsibility of compiling data from each experiment, a tedious yet crucial task. This summer, I also learned to run codes on MatLab and R in order to analyze the data. This new skill will be very useful in my future, regardless of the field in which I choose to work.
A key lesson I learned from this internship experience was the importance of asking questions. Asking questions to my fellow coworkers (other undergraduate researchers, graduate students, lab manager, Professor Park) not only helped to reduce errors on my part, but it also helped me learn more about the studies and the lab itself. For example, asking a graduate student for help in analyzing data allowed me to not only analyze the present data but also gain a skill in statistical analysis. Dr. Park, along with graduate students, informed me that they loved providing guidance and advice to undergraduate researchers such as myself. I, in turn, greatly appreciated the knowledge they were able to offer.
Donovan Sheffield
Junior, Football
Internship: Colliers International
At Colliers, the team works in groups of two or three in focusing on various aspects of commercial real estate. During my stint at Colliers, I was given various research projects in which I exceeded my supervisors’ expectations, and I gradually earned roles on larger projects that would often take entire weeks to complete.
The most fulfilling part of my internship was that my work was valued and included in marketing materials made for potential tenants. Along the way, I learned that people enjoy talking about my experience as a football player at Vanderbilt. While I prefer to expand beyond being a football player, my experience does allow me to open doors and enjoy conversations with important people I otherwise would not have the chance to meet.
Reid Nelson
Senior, Football
Internship: Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
This summer as an administrative intern at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt equipped me with real-life workplace skills and afforded an opportunity to make phenomenal networking connections. Children’s Hospital provided a very comforting and inviting environment. Even in the administration department, people still have the “Disney Attitude” and treat their coworkers more like extended family.
As an intern I was invited to attend upper management meetings, which dealt with several projects that are critical to the hospital’s success as well as day-to-day operational meetings. One of these meetings was the Daily Safety Operations Briefing where I learned most of the hospital acronyms. For example, GSW stands for “Gun Shot Wound” and BH is “Behavioral Health,” and I began to understand the seriousness of HIPAA. My supervisor, VP of Growth and Development Lee Ann Benson, was kind enough to set up one-on-one meetings with all of the upper-level management at Children’s. These “Meet and Greets” were probably the most beneficial aspect of my time this summer. I learned that there is no clear path to the top and that more positions and opportunities exist than I had ever imagined.
During my internship, I learned that most of the upper management may seem intimidating, but they are very willing to assist interns with projects as well as offer advice on career moves. I also was reminded that it is okay to smile and have a good time – after all, it is a children’s hospital.
Harrison Thomas
Sophomore, Cross Country
Internship: Cynthia Reinhart-King Laboratory
This summer, I had the opportunity to work in Cynthia Reinhart-King’s laboratory in Vanderbilt’s Biomedical Engineering Department. The lab focuses on researching how cell mechanics and cell-biomaterial interactions play a role in disease progression. I spent my summer working on a project studying cancer metastasis, which is the formation of secondary tumors from a primary cancer tumor. Prior to starting my work in the lab, I had no research experience, so I faced a significant learning curve when I began. At first I was overwhelmed with new terminology and techniques, but I now feel as though I have a strong foundation in laboratory knowledge.
My primary roles of the summer included cell culture, staining and imaging cells and histology samples, and assisting with the in vivo mouse experiments. Throughout the summer, I was put in charge of caring for my own cells. This task included monitoring them, feeding, and passaging them. These cells needed to be maintained in order to continue running experiments with them. Another one of my primary responsibilities was staining cells and histology slides. This process required me to learn the process of seeding cells on glass, fixing the cells, and staining them with antibodies to identify specific proteins of interest. I also had the opportunity to work alongside my graduate student mentor to help conduct the imaging, surgery, and sample collection of mice.
I learned many lessons throughout my summer experience, like the importance of clear communication and diligent note-taking. Working in the research field requires sharing ideas and thoughts with other people on a regular basis. Thus, being able to clearly explain oneself and ask effective questions are vital keys to success in research.
Bailey Bowden
Junior, Women’s Swimming
Internship: Arrow Music Agency
My internship with Arrow Music Agency was filled with new experiences. My official title was Artist Management Liaison, which meant that I was responsible for new artists looking for representation in the music industry. They would provide their music, website, social media, and typically an EPK, which is a press kit. I would review all of these things and decide whether they had potential to become commercially successful.
My internship duties were widespread. I designed a graphic for an artist’s new single, which is now featured on iTunes. I organized a “Concert on the Water” in which the artist performed on a yacht. But my largest project was organizing a West Coast tour for one of Arrow’s artists known as MAXO. Organizing a tour required me to email, call and set up meetings with potential venues and convince talent buyers to invest in MAXO as an artist. I contacted famous venues such as Whiskey A-Go-Go and engaged in a dialogue on behalf of our client.
Overall, my internship experience with Arrow Music Agency was nothing but positive. In fact, I plan on continuing in the music industry as a career path. I now credit this internship with helping me find out what exactly I want to do following my student-athlete career at Vanderbilt.