In the Summer of 2019, Kristian Stengel '21 will be the first Rice sport management student to intern for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He will be working in the sponsorship department, primarily assisting in activations, proof of performance, and lead generation.
“This was a goal of mine ever since second semester of my freshman year,” Stengel said. “Once I decided that this is what I wanted to do, all of my course focus and internships have been set-up to gain experience and skills for this exact internship, and to make myself the strongest candidate possible when it came time to apply.”
The UFC is a relatively new organization in professional sports, yet it is the fastest growing professional sport in the world.
“When Kristian shared with us that it was his dream to work for UFC, I determined that it would make sense to schedule a meeting at their headquarters to learn what we could do to help prepare Kristian for applying for internships in the future,” Rice Sport Management Professor in the Practice Tom Stallings said. “Obviously his preparation was very effective, and his hard work yielded the internship he had been dreaming about for the last couple years.”
The Department of Sport Management stops at nothing to get students where they want to be if they are willing to work for it. There is a successful history of placing students at their dream jobs. The resources and connections are unmatched.
“None of this would have been possible without the Department of Sport Management,” Stengel said. “They offer us so many resources to help us be successful. I am also excited to be the first Rice Sport Management student to intern at the UFC and hope to open a pipeline for future Rice SMGT students to have an opportunity to work there as well.”
Dheryl Batts, a senior from Dallas, TX, is majoring in Sport Management.