By Daniel Crespo
Senior women’s golfer Kendall Prince knows the struggles that come with being a Division I student-athlete. She understands the difficulty of balancing academics while also striving to be her best on the golf course. She’s just like any other student at UA. She studies hard in her classes and prepares diligently for exams and finals. She uses her time wisely and does everything she can to complete her degree in marketing. She’s just like every other student on this campus, except she has to go to practice when she finishes.
Like many students in college, she also has to think about life after they graduate. Many graduates spend a large portion of their years after graduation looking for a job that will lead them to their careers. Prince is no exception. Looking for jobs and finding opportunities is part of entering the work force and joining a trade. Prince earned a tremendous leg up in the quest of looking for a career when she was given the opportunity to intern with Nike in the digital sales department at the Beaverton, Ore. campus this summer.
“Because we’re a Nike school, we get two internships with Nike during the summer,” associate athletics directory Becky Bell said. “You have to be at least a junior and have a GPA over a 3.30. They go through a whole interview process and they then interview with certain managers at Nike for different positions that they have.”
Bell says an internship alone is valuable to graduating senior, but the opportunity to be able to have an internship at Nike will open up many doors for Prince.
“It’s huge,” Bell added. “To work for Nike as an intern is an unbelievable opportunity for her. Not that it always leads to a full-time job because it most certainly does not, but just to even have that on your resume is incredible.”
“It’s a pretty big deal for me,” said Prince. “It was a long process to get it. I started it in December and I didn’t find out until the end of March. I had to go through three interviews. But I’m very excited because it’s back home for me and that makes this opportunity that much greater for me.”
She applied for the internship in early December and didn’t hear a word about it until she received an email over spring break that they had extended her an offer. To say that she excited and humbled by it would be an understatement. Knowing how competitive those spots were to get made the news even that much better.
“I was very excited,” Prince said. “I first called my parents right away and told them about it. It’s pretty hard to get an internship with Nike because it’s pretty competitive.”
Prince, a Lake Oswego, Ore. native, is quite familiar with the Nike brand. With their main offices being in Beaverton a short drive away, Prince knew this was a chance that was simply too good to pass up.
“They were the only place I applied,” said Prince. “Being from the area, ever since I was little has always been Nike, Nike, Nike, Nike shoes and everything. I think the fact that we’re sponsored by Nike here at UA as well is pretty great because we are provided with a lot of equipment. Being close to home is a bonus, but just the company as a whole; it’s just a dream job to work for them.”
“It’ll be a big change for me,” added Prince. “It will be my first job. Golf has always been my job. So to be able to expand out of that will be a big change and something different.”
Prince’s mentality about attacking the moment and seizing the opportunity is a trait that women’s head golf coach Laura Ianello is all too familiar with and was not at all surprised when she heard that one of her seniors had accepted a practicum with one of the best sports wear providers in the world.
“Kendall has definitely been one of our best attributes on the golf team,” Ianello said. “Kendall has a 3.8 GPA as a marketing major in the Eller College. She has been an All-American Scholar. And really on the golf course she’s been very, very consistent playing in our lineup the last three years. For her to get this Nike internship, she is definitely worthy of it. She’s going to make it a huge success for her future.”
“Kendall is a very positive person,” Ianello added. “She’s always looking to get better. She’s a people pleaser. She’s always looking to do the right thing; she wants to do the right thing. She works extremely hard. She’s got a strong work ethic and, on top of that, she is a great role model for our underclassmen when it comes to her work ethic on the golf course and also in academics. I think Kendall, in her mind, had always the idea of this Nike internship. And she’s always said that it’s been one of her dreams to work with Nike. So I think Kendall is that kind of person that when she puts her mind to something, she’s not going to quit until she gets it. I also feel with her golf success and her academic success that she’s a great candidate, I think it’s going to be a perfect fit.”
Prince knows as well as anybody just how important and how huge this break is for her. When all of the congratulations are over and her job begins in June, the only thing that matters to her is the chance to learn as much as she can and to soak in every detail she can in the hopes that this internship leads to a future career.
“I’m really excited for the experience that I’ll gain in the work force,” said Prince. “I’m really hoping that it’ll extend to a lot of job offers afterwards. I’m going to work really hard this summer to prove myself; ask questions, learn a lot and hopefully come away with a job and with great experience on my resume.”
Prince will be among five Wildcats competing in this week’s women’s golf Pac-12 Championships at Boulder Country Club in Boulder, Colo. The tournament will take place Mon.-Wed., April 20-22.
