My senior year in high school I stumbled across a tweet by Illinois State Hockey that they were hiring interns. After getting in contact with the supervisor I was told I could apply as an incoming freshman. This lead to my application and eventually getting a voicemail that they wanted an interview.

I ended up driving down to Illinois State with my mom and sister in order to have an interview with the President and the supervisor. This was nerve-wracking and waiting the two weeks to hear back was anxiety filling. Eventually I got that phone call that said they were hiring me and thus I began as the Illinois State University Division Two Hockey Statistician.

For that whole season I would be present at all home games and most away games in order to record all the stats that the coach required of me. This meant getting help from scratches to help me out and then collecting it and totalizing the data in a spreadsheet for the coach. I also ran the scoreboard and got a front row seat to the drama in the penalty box.

I think the best thing about the internship is that I met one of my best friends, Hanna, through the internship. She was also in the box and we immediately clicked. It was nice to have a friend that was willing to deal with my craziness.

It was also nice because this year I was able to move up the ranks and I became the Division 1 Team Reporter. This meant I was in charge of writing game re-caps after every home game. I got to move more into what I wanted to do as a profession and start to build a portfolio.

Just being able to get that taste of what could possibly be my career was amazing. I was astounded and so grateful that they took a shot on an incoming freshman.

This is a huge thank you to everyone apart of the Illinois State University Club Hockey Team internship. Thank you for the opportunity and letting me learn more the sport and the business side of it.