Jacey McDonald lived a dream as a marketing intern this summer.
The East Central University Business Scholar from Blanchard, served an internship with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I had the opportunity to intern in the marketing department at the place of my dreams – the Oklahoma City Thunder,” said McDonald. “I did get to experience what it is like to be and work in a corporate environment, learn how the different departments work within themselves as well as other departments and experience InternOKC.”
InternOKC is a five-week summer internship program which gives interns a chance to meet and network with other interns from companies around Oklahoma City. The participants learn valuable skill to take with them as they transition from college student to young professional.
While serving as an intern for the Thunder, McDonald spent time conducting research on current events happening nationally and locally and seeing what marketing techniques other brands and companies were implementing.
“We were brainstorming ideas of how we could incorporate them for the Thunder brand and organization,” McDonald said. “I researched events ranging from the Manchester Benefit Concert to Comic Con. The great thing about marketing is that you can easily tweak ideas and tactics to target different audiences and to achieve different goals.”
McDonald was able to network with employees, not only within marketing, but other departments within the organization, through daily meetings if not every other day.
“I was able to sit in on meetings and get a feel for what my future may hold in terms of a normal work day in the field I am pursuing,” said McDonald. “Most commonly, the graphics department attends marketing meetings day to day. Sometimes, the events and entertainment and hospitality departments will attend if there is a big event coming up. These meetings are rather informal. Everyone is encouraged to ask questions and make comments.”
Another avenue in which McDonald was able to get to know staff members in other departments were through 3-Point Breakfasts.
“These breakfasts get us out of our comfort zones and help us network within the organization. I got to spend a few days in the human resources and community relations departments when things were slow in the marketing department,” McDonald said. “Here I got to meet more staff members and work on a few projects. These are two departments I would be interested in learning more about.”
Frequent contact with people through offices, on elevators or even on the streets, helped McDonald round out a pleasurable internship experience.
“Anytime I crossed paths with someone I had not met, they always made sure to introduce themselves and make a point to get to know a little about me. This made me feel very welcomed,” said McDonald. “This showed me that the people who work for the Thunder are excellent representatives of what the organization stands for.”
The InternOKC experience supplemented her time with the Thunder. The weekly events provided insight into what it is like to work, live and play in Oklahoma City.
“We got to hear from speakers of various companies, career paths and even walks of life,” McDonald said. “During each session, we got to meet and network with interns from other companies and share our goals and experiences.”
McDonald says she values her time she learned and experienced in Oklahoma City this summer.
“I could not have asked for a better first internship experience. My time there made me even more excited for my future,” said McDonald, who is pursuing a business administration-marketing degree through ECU’s Harland C. Stonecipher School of Business and was recently named one of seven new Business Scholars at ECU.
To be a part of ECU’s prestigious and exclusive Business Scholars program, McDonald was not only selected for her solid academic achievements, but her ability to show leadership skills in a manner of being an extension of the university’s faculty through the Stonecipher School of Business.
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