Northern State University Experience

Throughout my four years as a college student, one of the most rewarding areas of it all has been being able to connect classroom work to the experiential learning I have had the opportunity to be a part of. I was told early into my college career that your degree at the end is just a piece of paper, and what you do between now and when you receive that paper is what is going to define the value of it. Taking part in this internship forced me to step away from Northern State University for the semester, but the value I get to bring back will be incredible. Additionally, with the relative distance between Aberdeen and Brookings, I have been able to make the trip back to campus occasionally, and most recently, I had the opportunity to take time to present to a few classes about Daktronics and their student opportunities, as well as participate in the game-day operations with the production team for both volleyball and football.

I am very grateful to be in the position I am in right now, and how I found out about Daktronics internships was from Ben Moen who was presenting to Northern State classes last spring. It can be stressful to search for something like an internship or external learning opportunity, especially something that you believe applies to your interests. With having a sports background, Daktronics stood out to me from their large presence in professional and college sports venues, and several of the high school arenas I have played sports in. It was easy to connect with Ben, and I am grateful to have been in the right place at the right time. 

I am happy I was able to join Ben this fall in talking to classes on campus about Daktronics, knowing how important this was for myself just a couple of months ago. As someone who came in excited about the sports side of the business, I found myself really enjoying other markets as well, like Transportation, to which I tried to express how diverse this experience is and the outcomes you may potentially stumble across. There are ranges of things to take away and I really enjoyed showcasing my experience to my classmates.

A big takeaway throughout this internship for me has been the universal tools that one can take away from experience with Daktronics equipment and apply it elsewhere. I have had several opportunities to learn about our video equipment through a variety of trade shows and site visits, and the more I work with it, the more I realize how valuable that knowledge can be. Throughout player animations and live videos, video can be a great way to keep fans and students not only involved in the game, but in the production process as well.

Many high school and college students have opportunities to help with their school’s Daktronics equipment. It’s incredible to hear all the stories from students throughout the country with their involvement at their school. At Northern, it was another student and me running the board both for volleyball and football. Like I mentioned, these technical skills can carry over from school to school and especially for high schoolers looking for a way to be involved in college, this can be a great opportunity to carry over your skills from high school.

This was a great opportunity for me to connect my external learning with my university for a fun and productive week. Ashley Gauer, the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Northern, made the shadowing opportunity easy and a ton of fun. I look forward to staying in contact throughout my next semester to potentially continue helping. Ben Moen additionally made this a great week by letting me join in his recruiting efforts at the college, and I hope we can find time in the spring to connect with more students. Overall, I am blessed with both an amazing university and internship, and it was great that everything lined up for me to come across the opportunity and be where I am today.