West Virginia University soccer player and sport management student Kiley Harris is starting off her fall semester with a kick after recently completing a unique challenge to reach her educational and career goals.
From May 29-Aug. 3, she lived in the Pacific Northwest, as an Adrenaline intern at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.
But her internship with Nikes Adrenaline program- a full-time, paid position with a living stipend- wasnt typical by any means.
For one, the college-credit internships are highly competitive. Thousands typically apply for approximately 180 positions.
Secondly, as an intern in Nikes Corporate Responsibility Division, Harris helped ensure factories making Nike products for the 2008 Beijing Olympics meet the companys standards.
The 21-year-old WVU senior compiled auditing information, tracking factories that produce the Nike apparel, footwear and equipment that athletes will wear during the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Among other projects, Harris helped develop factory auditing tracking reports which help Nike track factorieslabor, environmental, safety and health compliance ratings. Nike assigns factories ratings of A-D, according to how closely their processes and procedures meet and sustain the companys code of conduct.
It was a really good experience,Harris said of the internship.I learned so much about Nike and having that experience is amazing. I learned how great a company Nike is and how much they give back to the community.
Kiley has done very well during the internship,said Charles Brown, who is senior director of Global Corporate Responsibility Compliance at Nike, as well as a WVU alumnus and vice chair of the WVU Alumni Association board of directors.These are highly-sought after internships. She has represented herself and WVU very well. The internship was a great opportunity for her and a great opportunity for us.
Brown, a 26-year veteran of Nike, said Harris showed initiative in learning more about the company after she toured Nike facilities during a weekend soccer tournament hosted by the University of Portland. She pursued the internship by making continual contact with Brown whenever he returned to the University campus as a speaker at the WVU College of Business and Economics.
Harris did so well during the Adrenaline internship, she was featured online as theIntern of the Weekin Sports Illustrated On Campus. The July 16 article about her may be viewed at:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/07/06/kiley.harris/index.html.
Harris- who hails from Noblesville, Ind.- demonstrated her determination early in her college career by earning a scholarship to play WVU Womens Soccer. She is a forward and has been on the team three years.
Kiley is a very important player,said head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, adding the team recently began its pre-season camp at the WVU soccer practice field.Shes one of the hardest working members of the team.
Its a great reflection of the University how highly Nike looks at our students,she noted.These internships are highly-competitive, but Kiley made it happen. She is a great representative of the WVU Athletic Department, and we should all be very proud of her achievements.
Kiley is part of a growing number of highly-motivated undergraduates who come into the WVU Sport Management Program with very high academic competence,said Floyd Jones, associate professor of sport management in the WVU School of Physical Education.
WVU has about 35 undergraduate sport management students doing internships each year.
Our students often are selected for internships because of the reputation of our Sport Management Program and the University,noted Jones, who coordinates undergraduate internships.
In recent years, WVU sport management undergrads have interned with the national and international Olympic Committees, the Pittsburgh Steelers and other high profile organizations, both in the United States and overseas. Students are also encouraged to gain a broad perspective by interning at organizations like the YMCA , the Boys and Girls Club, ski resorts and golf clubs, among other places.
WVU s sport management program has prepared qualified graduate and undergraduate students since 1981. The program is one of only 13 in the nation that was fully approved in a program review process in 2001 by the North American Society for Sport Management and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
For more information about the WVU Sport Management Program, contact Jones 304-293-3295, ext. 5243; Floyd.Jones@mail.wvu.edu or Dallas Branch, associate professor and graduate internship coordinator, at 304-293-3295, ext. 5264; Dallas.Branch@mail.wvu.edu .