First-Year Internship Q&A with Football Student-Athlete Noah Fearnley

Noah Fearnley

BEVERLY, Mass. – At Endicott College, a student's first-year internship lays the foundation for future success. It either reinforces early career decisions or creates a new path of thinking about life after graduation. In essence, it gets undergraduate students thinking about their future right from the start, putting them a step ahead of their competition. 

During the winter season, Endicott football freshman student-athlete Noah Fearnley (Orange, Conn.) completed his first-year internship. Fearnley gained valuable experiences through his first-year internship and offered up her perspectives to ECGulls.com.

Noah Fearnley
Sport Management

First-year Internship: Wesleyan University Athletics Department

Describe your overall experience at your internship.

My overall internship experience was amazing. I learned so much more than what I already knew about college athletics. Since I am a college student-athlete, I know a lot about the sports aspect that goes on at college but I didn't know a lot about what goes on behind the scenes. I got to see everything that the athletic director is in charge of from daily facility checks and sending out school reminders of practices and games to all the teams. The athletic director is in charge of making all the schedules for all the sports teams which is not an easy job at all. I made the NCAA protocol sheets for the men's and women's ice hockey and the men's and women's basketball games for the month. Each game needs to have a manually updated protocol sheet with the opponent that the team is playing for all the home games.

Did your perspective on your chosen career path / major change? Do you want to further pursue this career path / major or do you think you might want to try a different area of your major or switch all together?

My career path has not changed but it has narrowed itself into the right direction. I was in between college athletics and becoming an athletic director or working with the NFL in some way. I now think that I would like to go in the direction of the NFL but I am not 100% sure at the moment. I am going to try to do my next internship with an NFL agent, as I have already gotten started with looking into different opportunities.

What was the biggest lesson you learned from your first internship?

The biggest lesson I learned from my internship was that if you don't like what you are doing when you are older then you will not be successful. Most of the people that I met at Wesleyan were working at Wesleyan because they loved the school or loved the position that they were offered.

What advice would you give to future students on picking their first internship?

Advice that I would give a future student picking their first internship is to pick one that you know will give you answers on where you want life to take you. You might not love the internship and find out that it isn't for you but if it gives you answers on what you want to do with your life then it was a successful internship.

Was your internship what you expected? If it was or wasn't how so?

My internship was what I expected it to be. I expected to be doing work that would help out the athletic director and equipment manager. I worked hard at the tasks that were given to me no matter how much work I was given. I definitely learned a lot from working with the facility.

The Endicott Experience feature aims to highlight the entirety of the student-athletes' experiential learning journey throughout their academic careers. The student-athlete at Endicott is afforded the same opportunities as the general student population at the College as it relates to internships, study abroad, and postgraduate career pursuits. This philosophy mirrors the mission statement of the College which every student is encouraged to take intellectual risks, pursue scholarly and creative interests, contribute to the community, and explore diverse career paths. Read more Endicott Experience features by navigating the links below.   

INTERNSHIP: Fall 2015 | 2014-15 Internships Fall 2016 Semester-Long | Gulls "Learn By Doing" On Winter Break | 442 Student-Athletes Complete Internships During 2016-17 Academic Year

STUDY ABROAD: Studying Abroad as a Student-Athlete at Endicott | James Dwyer Focuses on Opportunities Abroad in Switzerland with Les Roches Global Hospitality | Endicott Student-Athletes Study Abroad in Asia | Holly Erbe Studies Abroad in London, Paris, Amsterdam | Andrea Courtemanche Gains New Perspectives Through Study Abroad Trip | 

ACADEMICS: Emily Sharpe and Eric Owens Balance STEM and Sport at Endicott | Kendra Walters, Creating Her Own Happiness Through Art at Endicott

CAREER OUTCOMES: Internships Lead To Career Outcomes | 2015 Graduates Find Immediate Success in Job Market

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