University of North Carolina Athletics
2020 Nike Internships: Different Look, Same Impact
September 16, 2020 | Cross Country, Track & Field, Fencing, Swimming & Diving, Student-Athlete Development
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – UNC's partnership with Nike extends far beyond the gear Tar Heels wear to train and compete. As part of an exclusive contract that provides Nike and Jordan apparel and footwear for North Carolina teams, at least two UNC student-athletes intern with the company each summer.
In the summer of 2020, Nike selected three Tar Heels for internships. Charles Chow (men's fencing), Caroline Hauder (women's swimming and diving) and Jake McEneaney (men's cross country/track & field) were set to spend the summer in, respectively, Beaverton, Ore.; Los Angeles; and Chicago. Then, of course, everything changed.
As was the case with most internships, Nike switched to a remote format after the pandemic shutdown. But in the end, that didn't diminish the impact. "It was an awesome experience," McEneaney said. "Nike did an incredible job of making the shift to online and making it a great experience."
This year's Tar Heel interns didn't get the experience of working face-to-face with other Nike interns, who are student-athletes from other Nike schools as well as those from the general student population, picked in a very selective process that begins in the fall and is finalized by March. But they still got some great perks, like Nike swag and a Zoom call with Tiger Woods, while learning from an outstanding internship.
Chow, a computer science and business administration double major, was an intern on the Global Tech team, working in a software role with Nike's AWS (Amazon Web Services) group. He is from Raleigh and lived in Chapel Hill over the summer while working. Chow had interned with Cisco and SAS, but says he learned the most from his Nike internship, and it cemented his desire to work in tech. "I'd never even considered working at Nike, but I learned more than I had from any of my other internships," he said.
Hauder, an advertising and public relations major in UNC's Hussman School of Journalism and Media, was a Retail Brand Intern in Nike's L.A. office. She worked in integrated retail marketing, focusing on marketing strategy and digital marketing strategy, from her apartment in Chapel Hill.
As is the case with many Tar Heel student-athletes, the Charlotte native had targeted the Nike internship opportunity and worked toward it for several years. "This internship was a huge goal of mine," Hauder said. "When I got the call in March that I'd gotten the internship it was a dream come true." She accepted immediately and was looking for affordable housing in L.A. when everything started shutting down. "At first I was concerned the internship would be cancelled," she said, "but Nike made a commitment to us. They made the transition as seamless as it could be."
Her intern project involved planning digital strategy for the fall and holiday women's lines for the West territory. Although the team was spread across the country, she was able to form a connection with her coworkers and manager.
"I felt really valued, like I could speak up about my opinion and share it," she said. "That gave me a voice. I grew a lot in terms of communication skills – as a student-athlete communication is probably part of your skill set, but bringing that into a corporate environment is different. In this position, I was able to be really candid about swimming and be authentic about who I am."
McEneaney, an economics and sport administration double major, was the Central Running Brand Intern. He's from Napierville, Ill., but after the internship went virtual he created a situation that's pretty much the runners' dream – living and training at altitude in Flagstaff, Ariz., while working for Nike. He ran in the morning, worked all day, then ran again.
In typical times, his group would have been focused on the 2020 Chicago Marathon. Instead he worked on the virtual version of the event and helped look ahead to the three big Chicago events in 2021, strategizing about what those will look like. His intern project, which he presented on at the end of the summer, planned for ways to make the Chicago running community more inclusive and diverse.
"The biggest lesson I took away from the summer is it helped me learn to take initiative," McEneaney said. "We had to be on top of the work and your own projects, even more so than if everyone had been in an office together."
At the end of the summer, all three became part of an exclusive and growing group of Tar Heels who are also former Nike interns. Several have returned to the company in fulltime roles after graduating from UNC, but all have benefited from valuable intern experiences. This year's trio is no exception.
"We really felt like employees for nine weeks," Hauder said. "Going forward, it has made me more selective with what I want to do. With internships, any experience is valuable because you learn no matter what, even if it's learning what you don't want to do. In this case, I really enjoyed what I did this summer and would love to do it again. The Nike internship experience was outstanding."
In the summer of 2020, Nike selected three Tar Heels for internships. Charles Chow (men's fencing), Caroline Hauder (women's swimming and diving) and Jake McEneaney (men's cross country/track & field) were set to spend the summer in, respectively, Beaverton, Ore.; Los Angeles; and Chicago. Then, of course, everything changed.
As was the case with most internships, Nike switched to a remote format after the pandemic shutdown. But in the end, that didn't diminish the impact. "It was an awesome experience," McEneaney said. "Nike did an incredible job of making the shift to online and making it a great experience."
Episode 8️⃣ of Tar Heel Talks ⤵️
This week, host @nataliedbode chats with @uncswimdive's Caroline Hauder and @UNCTrack_Field's Jake McEneaney about their roles and experiences as interns with Nike this past summer #GoHeels 🐏 pic.twitter.com/lvHV6HYXYD
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) September 9, 2020
This year's Tar Heel interns didn't get the experience of working face-to-face with other Nike interns, who are student-athletes from other Nike schools as well as those from the general student population, picked in a very selective process that begins in the fall and is finalized by March. But they still got some great perks, like Nike swag and a Zoom call with Tiger Woods, while learning from an outstanding internship.
Chow, a computer science and business administration double major, was an intern on the Global Tech team, working in a software role with Nike's AWS (Amazon Web Services) group. He is from Raleigh and lived in Chapel Hill over the summer while working. Chow had interned with Cisco and SAS, but says he learned the most from his Nike internship, and it cemented his desire to work in tech. "I'd never even considered working at Nike, but I learned more than I had from any of my other internships," he said.
Hauder, an advertising and public relations major in UNC's Hussman School of Journalism and Media, was a Retail Brand Intern in Nike's L.A. office. She worked in integrated retail marketing, focusing on marketing strategy and digital marketing strategy, from her apartment in Chapel Hill.
As is the case with many Tar Heel student-athletes, the Charlotte native had targeted the Nike internship opportunity and worked toward it for several years. "This internship was a huge goal of mine," Hauder said. "When I got the call in March that I'd gotten the internship it was a dream come true." She accepted immediately and was looking for affordable housing in L.A. when everything started shutting down. "At first I was concerned the internship would be cancelled," she said, "but Nike made a commitment to us. They made the transition as seamless as it could be."
Her intern project involved planning digital strategy for the fall and holiday women's lines for the West territory. Although the team was spread across the country, she was able to form a connection with her coworkers and manager.
"I felt really valued, like I could speak up about my opinion and share it," she said. "That gave me a voice. I grew a lot in terms of communication skills – as a student-athlete communication is probably part of your skill set, but bringing that into a corporate environment is different. In this position, I was able to be really candid about swimming and be authentic about who I am."
McEneaney, an economics and sport administration double major, was the Central Running Brand Intern. He's from Napierville, Ill., but after the internship went virtual he created a situation that's pretty much the runners' dream – living and training at altitude in Flagstaff, Ariz., while working for Nike. He ran in the morning, worked all day, then ran again.
In typical times, his group would have been focused on the 2020 Chicago Marathon. Instead he worked on the virtual version of the event and helped look ahead to the three big Chicago events in 2021, strategizing about what those will look like. His intern project, which he presented on at the end of the summer, planned for ways to make the Chicago running community more inclusive and diverse.
"The biggest lesson I took away from the summer is it helped me learn to take initiative," McEneaney said. "We had to be on top of the work and your own projects, even more so than if everyone had been in an office together."
At the end of the summer, all three became part of an exclusive and growing group of Tar Heels who are also former Nike interns. Several have returned to the company in fulltime roles after graduating from UNC, but all have benefited from valuable intern experiences. This year's trio is no exception.
"We really felt like employees for nine weeks," Hauder said. "Going forward, it has made me more selective with what I want to do. With internships, any experience is valuable because you learn no matter what, even if it's learning what you don't want to do. In this case, I really enjoyed what I did this summer and would love to do it again. The Nike internship experience was outstanding."
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