Bucks Go Pro Interns Suggest Department Enhancements

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Interns participating in the Ohio State Athletics Bucks Go Pro 1.0 program made presentations to athletics department staff Thursday offering suggestions and enhancements to existing programs and processes.

There were seven presentations with about 40 athletes from the 2023 Bucks Go Pro 1.0 summer internship program.

The Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute's most tenured program, the Bucks Go Pro 1.0 Internship Program runs eight weeks over the summer and allows student-athletes the opportunity to gain important hands-on professional experience. The program incorporates an educational curriculum focused on areas such as networking, leadership and personal finance.

2023 Group Presentations

Name, Image & Likeness
Interns: Sophia Louder (Wexner Nutrition Services), Kaitlyn Grimes (Digital Media), Olivia Wallace (LiFEsports), Zoe Coleman (Trademark & Licensing), Donovan Jackson (Marketing), Danielle Gelin (Affinity Group)
Group Leader: Omari DeBerry

This summer, the group created a mock Instagram account for The Ohio State University Name, Image, and Likeness. A content calendar, that consists of different post ideas, such as Instagram story polls, reels, and general posts, was created. This is a great resource for The Ohio State University Athletics Department to reach a wide variety of audiences and expand knowledge within the NIL space.

"These projects will help me professionally though working in a group and speaking publicly. Working in a group brings a collaboration of the minds together to strive for a common goal. This project helped with public speaking through the countless reps taken to build confidence." -- Donovan Jackson, Football

Data Analytics
Interns: Lucy Scott (University Compliance), Mason Edmund (Ticketing/Analytics), Sean Henderson (Human Resources), Advaith Prassana (IT), Sloane Matthews (OSU Physicians)
Group Leader: Kate Nushart

The group advocated for a centralized data analytics program within the Athletics Department by demonstrating its role and importance. We also showed its applications, revenue generation opportunities, and benefits for both athletes and other departments. We hope to provide a vision for what a designated analytics space could bring to OSU Athletics.

"Presenting with a group taught me the importance of preparation and effective communication, both in and out of the workplace. I recognize the benefits of collaboration in professional settings, since each member of my group brought a unique set of experiences and strengths to our project." – Lucy Scott, Rowing

Development Sport Specific Fundraising
Interns: Sam Campbell (Business Office), Kristian Grahovski (Keenan Center), Lexington Secreto (Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital), Kaia Henderson (Business Advancement), Danielle Schoenly (SASSO), Abby Thomas (SPAWS)
Group Leader: Ben Waite

This summer, we assisted the 36 varsity sports at Ohio State with annual fundraising. We gathered information about the teams' spending and future discretionary fund investments and then compiled the information into a digestible context for potential donors. Our draft emails, flyers and handouts will make fundraising processes significantly easier for our Ohio State coaches.

Compliance
Interns: Jacob Harmon (Athletic Training), Justin Ciccone (Compliance), Kami Kortokrax (Communications), Henry Blake (Alumni Association), Lydia Stute (Alumni Association)
Group Leader: Danielle Daluisio

Our group worked to create compliance videos that would be both entertaining and informative for Ohio State student-athletes. We worked to obtain all the necessary information athletes would need to know. We brainstormed different ways to deliver the information in a new and compelling manner. We wrote scripts for our projects, checking with our supervisor along the way to ensure the information and format was permissable. The final stage is the filming and editing. We worked with staff and our teammates to bring together videos we think will make the video watching process, hopefully, more fun.

Sports Psychology and Wellness Services
Interns: Sydney Browning (Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital), Zen Michalski (Trademark & Licensing), Julia Paslawski (Video Services), Claire Teresa Galavotti (Wexner Nutrition Services), Yeva Mazur (Sports Nutrition)
Group Leader: James Houle

We had the opportunity to redesign the Sports Psychology and Wellness Services (SPAWS) office. The SPAWS center is upgrading to a bigger space on the second floor of St. John Arena which is a completely blank slate. Our group has focused on researching cutting-edge sports psychology facilities, gaining student-athlete feedback, and brainstorming ways to promote the new space. By touring both the old and new offices, we were able to create conceptual room designs, contribute to interior decoration and graphics, as well as collaborate on generating new and improved amenities.

Buckeye Bash
Interns: Paul Page (Center for Innovation Strategies), Kalen Etzler (Camps and Clinics), Margaret Lawler (Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute), Taylor Thierry (Event Management), Reese Dehen (Buckeye Leadership Fellows)
Group Leader: Kate Reymann

We designed a layout for the annual Buckeye Bash event for student-athletes to engage with other teams as well as have fun with their own teammates. We were provided the opportunity to come up with the date, time and location for this event to take place. We have also come up with the logistics, such as the flow of traffic of the student-athletes and the food that will be catered. This event will include games, prizes, guest speakers, T-shirts, photo ops, and booths for different organizations designed to cater to student-athletes at Ohio State.

Athletics Residential Village
Interns: Morgan Miller (Sport Administration), Blake Eiland (Development), Bennett Espinda Banick (Human Performance Collaborative), Hamsika Arnipalli (Buckeye Leadership Fellows), Stephanie Berger (Blackwell), Emma Shumate (Sustainability)
Group Leaders: Xen Riggs & Amanda Hoffsis

Our group, along with The Ohio State University, is proposing a transformative project to establish a state-of-the-art, four-story residential opportunity on the athletics campus. Comprising of three buildings, this visionary space is ideally situated between Ackerman Road and the newly constructed Defiance Drive. The primary aim of this project is to create a dynamic living environment for Upperclassmen Student-Athletes, Undergraduate & Graduate Students, and the General Public, fostering a vibrant community where residents can thrive. Notably, the strategic location near key facilities like the Schumaker and the Covelli Center ensures convenient access for athletes, while also providing others the chance to be in close proximity to exhilarating Ohio State sporting events.

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