This summer I was fortunate enough to work as a community outreach intern with the FrontWave arena in San Diego California. This sports organization manages the San Diego Sockers, a professional indoor soccer team, and the San Diego Clippers, a G-League NBA team. Upon starting my internship the organization was expanding their operations which included finishing construction on their new 85 million dollar venue.
My main tasks involved searching for new potential partners for the sports organization and organizing and planning events with existing partners. This involved a lot of time reviewing prospective partner applications and conducting research on organizations to see if they would be a good fit for FrontWave to partner with. In addition to this, I also attended partner meetings and helped plan partner events with the rest of the community outreach members on my team. One of those events was a Fourth of July celebration at the FrontWave Arena. I was tasked with reaching out to potential vendors, which provided me with invaluable insight into the
complexities of event planning and the importance of effective communication and meticulous planning.
Outside of work, I spent time networking in San Diego with various people, including Scott Dreher’ 82. One of my favorite moments from my summer internship experience was getting to connect and have lunch with Mr. Dreher. Over the time of our lunch, we shared a great conversation about Wabash, Career opportunities, and life advice. From my time with Dreher’82, I picked up valuable life and career advice. He was also generous enough to provide me with MLB season holder tickets to my first-ever mlb game.
Overall, the internship experience provided through the generosity of the Dill Fund was transformative, opening my eyes to the exciting possibilities within the sports management field. Working at FrontWave Arena not only allowed me to develop critical skills in research, event planning, and partner relations but also deepened my understanding of the strategic aspects of
sports management. I learned how to navigate the challenges of building and maintaining strong partnerships, a key element for any successful organization. The experience I gained and the skills I developed will be instrumental as I move into my final year at Wabash and beyond.
