Nick Fleder ’17 and Sergio Santamaria ’18, both Sport Management majors, got the opportunity to travel to and work the 2017 All-Star Week in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dubbed “corporate services project employees”, the two took care of anything and everything a VIP experienced throughout the week, including ticket badges, hotel rooms, credentials, and postgame parties.
“We were tasked with assisting the corporate services team with all sorts of tasks,” Fleder said. “Essentially, our job was ensuring that the NBA’s premier guests and ambassadors had a seamless All-Star Weekend experience.”
Although they arrived a week early to work, the two also experienced several perks of being an NBA intern, attending the Rising Stars Challenge and the Freshman-Sophomore game Friday night, working a VIP party chock full of celebrities on Saturday, and finally enjoying the actual All-Star game itself on Sunday in seats face-valued at $1000.
The experience itself aside, Santamaria says that the best part of the internship had nothing to do with the All-Star events at all.
“The most fulfilling part was working with the full-time employees of the NBA,” Santamaria said. “They treated us like equals and also offered themselves as future references and connections.”
Both Fleder and Santamaria have worked for the Houston Rockets in the past, and Santamaria will continue to do so through the summer and next year. Fleder will be going to graduate school to study statistics at the University of Texas.
Jordan Lee, a junior from Plano, Texas, is majoring in Sport Management and minoring in Business.