Student-Athletes Enjoy Summer Internships, Preparing for Next Step

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The grind of a collegiate student-athlete knows no bounds. Early-morning runs and lifts in the offseason. Weekends spent on the bus or in airports with paper and exam deadlines within arms' reach.

Summer is hardly any different, and a new school year is approaching fast. Four Southern Miss student-athletes shared their journeys with us on how they are preparing for life after sports.

Mackenzie Hamilton (Junior, RS Sophomore)

I worked at FC Dallas (MLS team in Frisco, TX) as a social media intern. I worked two office days per week and all games including North Texas Soccer Club (USL team) matches.

During office hours I scheduled, wrote and created posts mainly for Toyota Stadium and the National Soccer Hall of Fame social media accounts. On game days, I covered the matches on FC Dallas' Instagram and Snapchat stories. I captured behind-the-scenes pictures and videos and was on the sideline to update fans on the match.

I applied for this internship for multiple reasons. First, I am studying Broadcast Journalism and want to work in sports. This internship immersed me in a professional sports environment and I worked directly with the communications department. Through this internship I have had a hands-on experience learning about planning, creating and publishing content. Another reason I wanted this internship is because of my love for soccer. What better way to spend my summer than get to watch all of the FC Dallas games on the sideline? Lastly, I actually played for FC Dallas' youth teams growing up, so I have been a fan of FC Dallas and am very familiar with the organization.

In an ideal world, 10 years from now I will be working for a professional sports team or a sports broadcasting network as a reporter and host.

This summer I also worked out, ran, played soccer, hung out with friends and spent time with my family. I like to cook and read, but I don't have a lot of time to do these during the school year, so I definitely got my fair share of doing those two things as well.

Sean Tweedy (Baseball, Senior)

My daily duties as a bank teller/intern for Community Bank consisted of handling customer transactions, solving problems for customers, and answering the phone all while having good customer service.

Being that my degree is in Banking and Finance, it seemed like a beneficial idea to get connected to a local bank and get my feet wet as this is something my career might be in down the road. It's been a tremendous experience learning so far this summer.

My goal in 10-20 years is continue in the financial field but hopefully be apart of a professional sports organization, whether that be in the front office or working for a financial company that helps with athletes handle their money. I want to stay in sports as much as I can so being apart of these two different areas is a goal that I would love to reach.

Ashley Berry (Volleyball, Senior)

I did creative editing for "The Break", wrote web stories, worked on the assignment desk, recorded stand ups, shadowed production, went out with reporters, wrote scripts for packages and pitched story ideas. I worked from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

I was actually a Kinesiology major and that just wasn't working out, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to switch to if I were to change my major. One day, our former coach [Amanda Berkley] said "I need to put a mic on you" because I make noises when I play, but I thought she meant it in a post game interview type of way. So through a misunderstanding in practice, "The Breakdown with Berry" was born. I was enjoying that more than my actual classes. I ended up changing my major to broadcast journalism which led me to pursue this internship. While I interned at FOX26, I've discovered my passion for creative editing. So basically, one big misunderstanding landed me in my dream field that I would've never imagined myself working in.

10-20 years from now, I aspire to become a creative content producer or a documentary film maker.

Outside of Fox, I spent my summer getting reps in at my old volleyball club (Houston Juniors), working out at F45, binge-watched shows that I missed out on during the school year and visited family.

Patton Little (Track and Field, RS Junior)

"I worked in the ER at the Baptist hospital in Jackson. Since I'm not a licensed RN until December, I worked under a certified preceptor's license. I got to do pretty much full-time RN duties, except no access to narcotics, and I couldn't administer blood transfusions."

Student-Athletes Enjoy Summer Internships, Preparing for Next Step

Players Mentioned

Ashley Berry

Mackenzie Hamilton

Patton Little

Sean Tweedy

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