Melissa Fox, a senior public communication major with a marketing minor, wasted no time hitting the streets of campus trying to get students pumped up about Kent State Athletics as part of her internship with the Kent State Athletic Marketing Department.
Fox’s high-energy, hands-on personality made her a perfect match to join the Kent Flash Force Promotional Street Team as one of the many things she does for her internship.
“We try to engage with students on campus to get them to recognize Kent State athletic events by handing out promotional items,” Fox said. ‘We also try to understand if they are not currently attending games, why not.”
Fox says her open personality helped her chose public communication as her concentration in the School of Communication Studies.
“All of the speeches we do in class and the interactions with my classmates is my favorite part about my concentration,” Fox said. “It really helped me transition into the work I do for my internship.”
As the marketing intern, Fox also creates social media content, assists graduate assistants, conducts research on how to increase student attendance at games, and prepares promotional items and materials to be passed out during campus events.
Fox says Kent State Athletics recently incorporated its own Snapchat to increase fan experience and interaction.
“We are going to have team takeovers on Snapchat now,” Fox said. “We will have a player snapping videos of the team getting pumped up before games and other behind the scenes shots. It’s going to be so awesome.”
She wants to encourage all Kent State students to come out and support the Kent State Men’s basketball team this Friday, February 19th at 6:00 p.m. for the rivalry game against Akron.
Fox says she loves interning for the athletic department because she has always has been a big sports fan. She even practiced figure skating for 15 years.
She hopes to continue working in sports marketing and communication after graduation, either for the Columbus Blue Jackets or the Lake Erie Monsters.