Editor's note: Intern Spotlight is a Ball State Daily News series profiling Ball State students and their summer internships. If you have any suggestions as to who we should feature next, send an email to editor@bsudailynews.com.
Through connections he made working for Ball State's Sports Link, Drew Duff had multiple offers for internships at the beginning of the summer, but nothing compared to the opportunities he would have with USA Football.
"I have always loved football,” he said. “I’ve looked up to USA Football and what they have done and I just thought, ‘Wow, this is the company for USA football.’ This company gets funding from the NFL, different partners, organizations and teams. ... This company is the real deal.”
The senior telecommunications major spent the last three months working as a video production intern for USA Football, the national governing body for amateur American football in the United States based in Indianapolis.
As an intern, Duff worked within the educational department, editing and producing podcasts and videos for the website. Specifically, Duff got to help create learning videos for sports teams that helped give coaches tips and resources on how to do their job effectively.
Over the course of three months, Duff had the opportunity to attend professional shoots at NFL facilities. He worked at the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals facilities.
"It was awesome to not only getting to attend different shoots, but being able to travel and go to places like Arizona, a state I have never been before," Duff said. "I was able work with equipment – something I really enjoy doing – and make connections with a lot of people. It was a lot of fun."
As someone who is "always keeping an ear to the ground," Duff used his experiences this summer to network with different professionals in his field. During this process, Duff noticed how big of an impact Ball State has on his potential employment opportunities.
"One thing I realized this summer at USA Football is really how much weight the Ball State names carries," Duff said. "USA Football is a company of over 100 employees and around 10 or 15 of those are Ball State grads, including my direct boss. I knew the name carries a decent amount of weight, but Ball State really is everywhere and the alumni network is huge."
While his internship ended last week, Duff is already eagerly planning for what's next to come after graduation.
He has started a list of where he plans on applying to for a job. USA Football is on that list.
"The relationships I formed were fantastic and the experience overall was very helpful," Duff said. “I could see myself working there next year.”
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