2025 Bucks Go Pro Interns Suggest Department Enhancements
7/24/2025 10:15:00 AM | General
Photo Gallery
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Interns participating in the 2025 Ohio State Athletics Bucks Go Pro 1.0 program made presentations to athletics department staff Thursday offering suggestions and enhancements to both new and existing programs and processes.
There were eight presentations with about 40 athletes from the 2025 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.
Bucks Go Pro 1.0 – 2025 Group Projects
BY THE BUCK
Interns: Emma Hellenkamp (Nike Partnerships), Reese Wuebker (Nike Partnerships), Luke Vickers (SASSO), Danika Varda (Facilities Design & Construction), Morgan Bridges (Trademark & Licensing)
Group Leader: Andy Devito & Andrew Moore
By the Buck is a fashion-forward Ohio State clothing brand built on unity, pride and passion for Ohio State Athletics. Our brand celebrates the strength and spirit of all 36 Buckeye sports through thoughtfully designed, high-quality merchandise. By the Buck brings together athletes and students, creating a shared identity that honors their dedication and connection to the Buckeye community. Collaborating closely with OSU's design team, our brand ensures every product reflects authenticity and creativity. By the Buck is continuously evolving to represent the true heart and passion of Ohio State sports.
DATA ANALYTICS
Interns: Jace Hashimoto (Information Technology), Maeve Simonds (Wexner, Student Assistant), Mary Green (Athletic Training), Owen Pickering (Facilities Design & Construction), Mila Nikanorov (Wexner, Strategy & Transformation)
Group Leader: Makena Alexakos & Matt Bartlebaugh
For our presentation we are presenting on Data Analysis within Ohio State Athletics by creating a heat map that shows where the best athletes originate. In order to do this, we researched all of the All-American and All-Conference awards over the last 10 years for each sport. This project focuses on the idea of following trends and patterns throughout the years to help coaches with recruiting and grow our programs. The overall goal is to give a heat map platform that will be a resource all in one place for anyone that seeks to know this information.
THE EUGENE D. SMITH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE RECRUITING MATERIALS
Interns: Audrey Rudolph (The Eugene D. Smith Leadership Institute), Andre Roberts (Internal Audit), Paige Delma (OSU Physicians), Victoria Kutz (Sport Administration), Courtney McCann (Wexner, Sport Science)
Group Leader: Kate Reymann
Our group has worked to enhance The Eugene D Smith Leadership Institute's recruiting pitch. EDSLI gives our university and athletic programs an undeniable edge. We want to highlight the importance of these opportunities because of how appealing it is when promoting the Ohio State University. We will be discussing the elements each program has to offer, how our resources compare to other Big Ten institutions, and lastly, changes we think should be made to enhance the recruiting pitch.
SCARLET & GRAY EXPERIENCES
Interns: Arella Jacome Agnalt (Nike Partnerships), Hamish Patel (Development), Sam Deckhut (Ticket Office), Ava Shankle (Director of Operations), Rachel Bockrath (Human Performance Collaborative)
Group Leader: Kelly Mulhern
Our presentation introduces Experience Ohio State: Events & Venues, a streamlined version of the former Scarlet and Gray Venues initiative. This project represents the initial phase in developing a bid book aimed at positioning Ohio State as a premier destination for hosting events. Tasked with improving how campus spaces are presented and booked, our team consolidated information into a centralized, user-friendly system to make planning easier for faculty, staff and external partners. Through customer discovery, we identified key pain points and addressed with a detailed space inventory and actionable recommendations. Our campaign includes digital branding, promotional materials and a vision for a refreshed Plan Events website to unify and elevate the event-planning experience at Ohio State.
THE EUGENE D. SMITH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE PODCAST
Interns: Kara Hurst (Communications), Lexie Kupka (LiFESports), Olivia Hasbrook (Human Resources), Malcolm Mckenzie (Compliance), Jacinda Bonham (Event Management)
Group Leader: Logan Hittle
Our group has been working on a podcast called Behind the Buckeye, which highlights the untold stories of current and former Ohio State student-athletes and possibly staff. Hosted by Logan Hittle and filmed weekly at The Jack Nicklaus, each 30-minute episode dives into topics like NIL deals, transfer portal challenges, injury recovery, and life after sports. With a focus on authenticity and storytelling, we've featured guests to explore the pressures and opportunities athletes face today. Our podcast will give student-athletes a genuine, empowering platform to share their untold stories, highlighting personal challenges, growth and life beyond sports, while also strengthening Ohio State's commitment to leadership and connection, with promotion on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to expand our reach and impact.
STUDENT-ATHLETE CONTENT CREATION SPACE
Interns: Olivia Taylor (Marketing), Jewel Walker(Blackwell), Brennen Schramm (LiFESports), Grace McCoshen (Athletic Training), Jadin Bonham (Treasury)
Group Leader: Logan Hittle & Hannah Bach
This summer, our group was tasked with developing a plan for a content creation space for Ohio State student-athletes.
Our proposal includes a location, design layout, estimated costs and potential funding options. The goal is to create a dedicated space where athletes can easily produce high-quality content to grow their personal brands, support recruiting efforts and take full advantage of NIL opportunities. This space will help Ohio State remain competitive with top athletics programs and give athletes the tools they need to succeed on and off the field.
ATHLETIC EVENT SAFETY VIDEOS
Interns: TJ Schierl (Camps & Clinics), Reagan Ceglio (Digital Media), Lottie Landmesser (Video & Photography), Krys Gorski (Campus Tours), Grace Dixon (Wexner, Neurology)
Group Leader: Evan Derr
This summer, our group was tasked with updating the evacuation video that plays in the Ohio Stadium before football games. The video currently being used is outdated in terms of style and visuals. As a group, we met with our advisor, discussed these issues and decided to make a new video that is modern, educational and attention-holding. We filmed this video with the help of the Ohio State athletics film team.
SCARLET & GRIT
Interns: Kate Tyack (Keenan Center), TJ Frost (Wexner, Information Technology), Sydney Bryant (Business Office), Joe Roth (Women's Basketball), Maria Roth (LiFESports, Coach Beyond)
Group Leader: Jamey Houle, Justin Worley, Sydney Mack & Lindsay Sullivan
We're working on a marketing plan for Scarlet and Grit, a seven-week mental skills program created specifically for student-athletes. It's all about helping athletes strengthen their mindset through tools like mindfulness, goal setting and imagery. Our goal is to get more student-athletes aware of the program, excited about it and ultimately involved. We're using Teamworks, social media and word of mouth to spread messaging in ways that feel real and relevant to their daily lives.
#GoBucks
