Written by Kevin Morency '21
- ECGulls.com Intern

BEVERLY, Mass. – The success of Endicott College's internship program is no secret. In the 2021 edition of the U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges Rankings", Endicott College ranked No. 15 nationally in the Co-ops/Internships category. Yet, even the best institutions and programs faced numerous challenges when the global spread of COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill in March.

The challenge the Endicott internship program immediately faced was the uncertain status of student internships over this past summer. The warm months spent away from campus are normally reserved for students to complete one of their two required 120-hour internships. However, offices and businesses across the country were closed, and the unpredictability of COVID-19 made it difficult for students to lock down internship opportunities. 

Despite this adversity, though, many Gulls remained resilient. Students were able to adapt to the unprecedented landscape before them and complete various remote internships. In fact, that's exactly what four student-athletes, Jaymie Caponigro '21 (Swampscott, Mass), Giana Nekitopoulos '22 (West Springfield, Mass), Cara Smith '23 (Arlington, Mass), and Mady Hentosh '23 (Peabody, Mass), accomplished during their summer internship with Female Fan Nation. 

Female Fan Nation

Female Fan Nation is an organization striving to bring together all women who are interested in spectating professional sports into a unified community. The online platform functions as a go-to portal for content, game access, VIP events, and merchandise that promotes the female fan experience, while both free and premium memberships provide unique benefits and a fun, innovative, and inclusive environment for female fans nationwide.

Female Fan Nation's unique standing as a female-oriented sports hub is one of the main reasons why Caponigro, a senior midfielder on the women's soccer team, decided to intern with the company in the first place.

"Growing up, I watched and played sports so I only thought it was fitting to explore the option of incorporating sport into my future career," explained Caponigro over email. "When I was given the opportunity to intern for this organization, I immediately accepted so I could see if working in the sport industry was something I wanted to pursue." 

Laurie Voke is the founder and president of Female Fan Nation. She has 25+ years of experience in sports marketing, sales, and sponsorship acquisition to her name, and she has put together a team entirely made up of women who are dedicated to growing the Female Fan Nation brand. For Smith, a sophomore Gulls' cheerleader, it was the company's use of sports as the foundation to build a larger community of like-minded women that stood out to her when considering the internship opportunity.

"I loved that the Female Fan Nation's mission was to bring together women from all over the country on a platform that has various opportunities for promoting the female fan experience," said Smith. "Not only does [Female Fan Nation] target females of all ages, but it's also an all-female company which was a unique aspect that attracted me to the internship."

Leaving Their Mark

Internships always come with responsibilities, and the jobs assigned to Caponigro, Nekitopoulos, Smith, and Hentosh were no joke. Nekitopoulos, a junior on Endicott's track and field team majoring in computer science, was tasked with designing and building a brand new website for Female Fan Nation, alongside fellow Endicott intern Marissa Patti. Not only was creating the website a great experience for Nekitopoulos, but it's also something tangible that she can show future employers when applying for computer science-based jobs.

"This internship was a great experience that I can add to my resume," said Nekitopoulos. "I not only learned a lot working [at Female Fan Nation], but the finalized website is a great example of my work that I can show to potential employers."

Hentosh, a stand-out sophomore on the women's ice hockey team, also had her hands full throughout the internship. The hospitality management major was placed in charge of Female Fan Nation's social media presence, aiming to grow the company's social media platforms by 20%. Hentosh created posts and stories daily for Instagram and Facebook, while also developing graphics, content, and Female Fan Nation's week-by-week social media strategy.

This experience proved to be a valuable one for Hentosh because it allowed her the chance to experiment with social media marketing as a possible career choice. "This internship really confirmed my feelings towards social media marketing," Hentosh expressed. "There is so much more to social media when using it for business purposes, and I am glad I was exposed to it."

Smith, who is a business major at Endicott, was focused on e-commerce business development. More specifically, she was tasked with finding 10 partner companies to sell their merchandise on the Female Fan Nation website. Due to her status as an underclassman, Smith said that she isn't totally sure on her future career path yet. However, she credits this internship with helping her understand the ins and outs of making sales in the business world, and raising her expectations for future internships and jobs.

As a senior graphic design major, Caponigro was able to walk away from this internship with a portfolio full of completed projects and vital real-world experience that will help differentiate her from other applicants as she begins to approach life after graduation. 

Voke, the founder and president of Female Fan Nation, handed Caponigro the opportunity to completely rebrand the company and she did not disappoint. Among a laundry list of completed tasks, Caponigro designed the company's new logo, brand book, style guide, social media templates, and handled logo, graphics, and infographics for Female Fan Nation's virtual tailgate event. 

When discussing Caponigro's performance across her various tasks, Voke had nothing but praise for the Endicott senior. "She is a total rockstar," Voke said over email. "I asked her to stamp all the work [she did for us] with her personal contact information in the hopes that she can gain some new clients!"

Now, speaking generally, it's not uncommon for interns to mainly handle low-stress tasks when completing an internship. It's far less common for companies to entrust jobs of high importance to college students. Yet, that's exactly what Voke did with her Endicott interns. From designing Female Fan Nation's brand new website to handling the company's social media presence, Voke allowed Caponigro, Nekitopoulos, Smith, and Hentosh to leave their mark on the company — and it's safe to say her gamble paid off.

A Student-Athlete's Mindset

All four student-athletes agreed that the success they achieved during their internship, both individually and as a team, was partly due to the skills they've developed on the field, ice, and track as college athletes. Caponigro and Nekitopoulos highlighted the importance of time management and teamwork, which are two skills that are viewed as necessities by coaches and employers alike. Hentosh emphasized how important communication was during this internship due to the remote setting, and that it's a skill she's refined on the ice with her hockey teammates.

"Communication is important in all aspects of life but especially when you are working with a team," explained Hentosh. "During my internship, we had to rely on non-traditional forms of communication due to everything being done remotely, so it was important to constantly check in with your team members and keep up on each other's progress."

At the same time, Smith was adamant about her self-management, attention to detail, and dedication translating smoothly from her spot as a cheerleader to her role as an intern. 

"Some skills I possess as an athlete that translated to my work during the internship are self-management and focus," said Smith. "I found that during my Zoom calls each week, I was taking notes and being an active listener who asked questions so that when I moved onto my task for the week, I could get through it no problem. I was also dedicated to doing what Laurie asked me to do each week and I made sure I got it done on time."

At the end of the day, whether the arena is Division III competition or a real-world remote work environment, success will always require teamwork, passion, and self-discipline. Caponigro, Nekitopoulos, Smith, and Hentosh prove this every time they play in a game, run in a meet, or compete in a competition as Gulls, and they proved it again during their internship with Female Fan Nation.

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(Photo Credit - Female Fan Nation)