ELIZABETH CITY, NC- Elizabeth City State University Department of Athletics is excited to announce the first Sports Information Viking Internship (experienceship) Program developed by Sports Information Director Shalyn Moore. "This program has been a vision of mine since I was hired last October and we are finally launching it with an amazing group of seven students from three universities, shared Moore." 

 "Cultivating a program that could adapt to virtual and hands-on learning was a challenging process but being in this field made it a flawless transition for adjusting the program in light of the pandemic."
 
The students that have committed to the program will complete 16- 32 weeks of virtual learning, hands-on learning, skills-training, game-day operations, professional development sessions, and team designed project management programming under Ms. Moore's leadership. The students range from undergraduate and graduate level programs at Elizabeth City State University, Towson University, and Virginia State University. 
 
Our first class of participants are listed below:  
 
    Infinity "Bria" Anderson is a native of Cumberland, Virginia and a graduate of Virginia State University. She received her bachelor's degree from VSU in Health and Physical Education and was a member of the VSU Volleyball team. She decided to continue her studies at VSU in the Sport Management program and is expecting to graduate in 2021. Bria's goals are to land a job in Compliance after graduation, as well as increase her knowledge in many different areas in collegiate athletics like stat input. "Some of my expectations from this experience would be to learn more of the behind-the-scenes in Athletic Departments as well as intern in a comfortable environment with professional individuals" shared Bria. "I expect my knowledge in Compliance to increase as well. I expect to finish this internship confident in landing a job in athletics and proving that my hard work and experience means more than my age."

    Jarod Borders was born in Alexandria, VA but his families military background led him to several other areas before transferring to ECSU to pursue his passion of sports this year. Borders plans to graduate in Spring or Summer with his degree in Sports Management with a concentration in business and administration. "I would like to run a sports facility. Manage people, inventory, the facility itself. I am not sport specific," said Borders. "I would like to learn about the ins and outs of collegiate athletics and what it takes to operate it smoothly.

    Jadyn Chandler is a junior graduating in December 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management from Towson University. She is from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Her goals are to work in a collegiate athletic department as a Sports Information Director. After she completes her bachelor's degree, she plans to get a Master's in Sport Administration. She expressed that her more immediate goals are to get more experience with using NCAA Live Stats for basketball and learning to stat other sports as well.  Chandler would also like to get more experience with writing previews and recaps, but more specifically feature stories. "My expectations are to learn more about what it takes to become a successful Sports Information Director and gain skills that will help me excel in future endeavors," said Chandler. "I also expect to make great connections with those who are already in sports information roles, but also make connections with others who are still new to sports information, like me."
 
    Grand Roberson is an Alexandria, VA native and a graduate student at Virginia State University where she played Volleyball.  She received her bachelor's degree in communications in 2016 and is now pursuing her master's degree in Sports Management. After graduation Roberson plans to pursue a career in athletic Administration at the high school level. She is also interested in exploring the various roles within collegiate athletics. "I expect to position and prepare myself for more networking opportunities," said Roberson "I also want more of a real-time experience that allows me to work on projects that can validate my experience to make me a valuable candidate for jobs post-graduation."
 
    Jamarus Smith is an Ahoskie, NC native in his senior year at ECSU. He is a Sports Management major with a concentration in Marketing and Promotions. His immediate aspirations after graduation are to land a good paying job and move away. Last year Smith assisted the athletic department with gameday operations and was happy to return to be a part of the program. "I am excited to learn the new stuff Ms. Moore is implementing with the streaming platform since I helped stream games last year," shared Smith. 
 
    Talissa Spruill is a Columbia, NC native pursuing a degree in Sports Management with a focus in Marketing and Promotion. Her future goals are to work with the volleyball men's team for the Olympics. "It does not have to be in the United States, but I want to be a part of the men's Olympics Volleyball team in Japan," shared Spruill." "My expectations are to get a better understanding of what the sports industry does and how it works. Another expectation I have is to know how to deal with unexpected things that can happen throughout the day at a sporting event."

        Former ECSU men's basketball player Jason Wallace is an Inglewood, CA native pursuing a degree in Sports Management with a focus in Marketing and Promotion. His future goal is to open up a sports recreation center back at home or somewhere on the west coast. "I have learned a lot from Ms. Moore last year when it came to planning and promoting," shared Wallace. "This year I would like to take her feedback and focus on my writing and professional development skills." Being a student-athlete is very demanding and time consuming. While Wallace didn't plan on hanging up his jersey after the completion of his college career, he has decided that he can now focus solely on completing his degree. 
 
For more information on the Sports Information Viking Internship (experienceship) Program contact Shalyn Moore at srmoore@ecsu.edu