Intern Responsibilities

Job Description

The Harris County – Houston Sports Authority is seeking 2 well-rounded students looking to excel in the sports industry. Our Event Operations interns have an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and hands on experience working alongside the Events Team. Areas of concentration include:

• Participate in meetings and events

• Assist with event planning and operations

• Vendor research, outreach and database maintenance

• Equipment inventory and storage maintenance

• On-site event support to include set-up and teardown

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Requirements & Qualifications

• Eligible candidates must be enrolled as a full-time college/university student and receive academic credit for the internship

• Applicant must be available for a minimum of 35 hours per week; during event dates; work long days including some weekends and evenings

• Lift up to 45 pounds repeatedly, work outdoors and stand for long periods of time

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Benefits & Opportunities

This is an unpaid internship. While this may deter you from applying to this internship, my advice is to not let it. The networking opportunities I gained while interning were unmatched. 

The Internship did get moved to virtual, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. This did not stop my network from expanding though. I had Zoom meetings with the following individuals:

• Terry Vantine, Senior Producer at VISION Production Group

• Ellen Ramsey, Owner of Let It Fly Events, Monte Carlo Plus, and Lone Star Exhibits

• Jonathan Jewett, Management and Operations Professional at Shepard Exposition Services

• Cari Broderson, VP of Events & Programs at Greater Houston Partnership

• Terry Leibowitz, Director of Member Engagement and Sponsorships at Greater Houston Partnership

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On top of all these event professionals that I met with, my co-workers were great resources as well. They work with virtually everyone in the Houston sports world, including all of the professional teams and athletes. The entire staff met during weekly Zoom meetings, and would give a rundown of the projects they were working on. Even just listening in on these meetings offered me event, marketing, and networking knowledge. I never would have gotten the level of information about, or exposure to the Houston sports world had I never taken this internship. 

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Achievements

The skills and knowledge I learned from this internship have prepared me for life after college. Going into this internship I was looking to create industry contacts, take initiative in professional work, and learn the details behind planning a sporting event. I was able to accomplish all three of these things during my time at HCHSA. The networking Zoom calls and relationships with my coworkers allowed me to expand my professional network unlike any opportunity I've ever had prior to this internship. Everyone at HCHSA truly cared about the growth of the interns, and urged us to stay connected through LinkedIn or personal communications. I also gained confidence in working with people of all ages. Everyone trusted the work that I did. This trust allowed me to gain confidence, and know that taking initiative is respected by all. 

On top of these, I also was given the opportunity to plan an event for the Sports Authority from scratch. The research and planning I did to contribute to a possible 2021 event was extremely beneficial. It gave me a taste of the work and details behind a sporting event that I was searching for. 

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