Students Share IRUC Experiences

Students who found their spring and summer internships canceled by the pandemic were able to fulfill the requirement through Illini RST Undergraduate Consulting. Here’s what some of the students had to say about the experience:

Patrick Josellis
Current senior Patrick Josellis had an internship lined up as an assistant director for an aquatics camp in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette. He spent the summer instead working with two other students on consulting projects for the Chicago Cubs, Niagara Falls State Park, and the NBA team Oklahoma City Thunder. Topics included identifying alternative off-season uses for sports facilities, developing strategies to encourage safe tourism in the age of COVID-19, and planning an e-sports tournament.

Patrick described IRUC as a successful experience that taught him a lot. “I gained valuable experience in working during a crisis,” he said. “Learning how to manage work during something like this and gaining an insider perspective on organizations’ struggles with COVID was great.”

He plans to pursue another internship that enables him to explore sustainable innovation in the tourism and travel industry. “The tourism industry was doing amazing in 2019 and hitting records highs,” he said. “Unfortunately, both sports and travel were directly impacted by the pandemic and shut down, with some effects expected to linger in years to come.” He said if IRUC becomes a permanent option for RST students, he would definitely recommend getting involved. “I think it is a great place for students to gain more experience with group work, communication, and working with a variety of clients and organizations in the RST industry.”

Amelia Wagner
Current senior Amelia Wagner had applied for a summer internship with a St. Louis Cardinals’ Cardinals Care and Community Relations program that was cancelled. As a consultant with IRUC, she worked instead with Niagara Falls State Park, the Chicago Bears, and Paragon Marketing Group. Working with “incredible” industry professionals in different sectors of the leisure industry made the experience a success for both her personal and professional development.

“The work assigned to our group by each organization was relevant, hands-on, and incredibly useful as we prepare to enter the workforce,” Amelia said. “We had the opportunity to highlight our research and analytic skills as well as our creative and problem-solving skills.”

While she thinks students still need to pursue internships specific to their professional goals, she believes the variety of experiences offered by IRUC can help students expand their professional networks and narrow down career choices, and she hopes IRUC will remain an option for future students.

Christian Evans
Christian had worked at sporting events as a member of the Fighting Illini Marketing team during the year and was looking forward to a summer internship in the front office. His IRUC team worked with an account coordinator and senior vice president at Paragon Marketing Group, a service executive with the Chicago Bulls, and the executive director of international development of Princeton University. Calling the experience successful and worthwhile, Christian said he learned a lot working with leaders in RST industries.
 
“The main thing I learned was that ideas have to be informed,” he said. “Creativity is important, but both Dr. Raycraft and the clients stressed how critical it is to make your ideas stronger with research.”

He also enjoyed working remotely with alumni all over the country. “IRUC creates the opportunity for networking with a variety of different clients, which is awesome,” he said. “Other students can definitely benefit from a remote internship of this caliber.”