Auburn Athletics Intern
During the Fall 2024 semester, I completed a hands-on, in-person Public Relations internship with Auburn Athletics, gaining valuable experience across multiple sports programs including football, volleyball, and baseball. This internship provided extensive exposure to media relations, writing, website management, live event coordination, and digital content creation. I worked both collaboratively and independently in a fast-paced professional environment, allowing me to build on my academic foundation and strengthen practical skills essential for a career in public relations.
I learned how to navigate a professional sports communications environment with confidence, adapt quickly to new responsibilities, and build strong working relationships that enhanced both my personal growth and team contributions.
My time with Auburn Athletics has equipped me with essential professional skills, including effective communication, deadline-driven writing, media relations, live-event operations, and proficiency in industry tools such as Adobe InDesign and website management platforms.
Volleyball
During my internship with Auburn Athletics, I had the opportunity to support the women’s volleyball program through a variety of communications, media, and event management tasks.
My responsibilities included updating and maintaining the volleyball team’s website, including player profiles, season records, and statistics. I created weekly call cards and flip cards using Adobe InDesign, assisted with game-time graphics, and managed real-time Instagram story content for an account with over 59,000 followers. On game days, I worked in a fast-paced environment, calling and keeping stats live during matches, delivering updated statistics to coaches and players, and helping facilitate the post-game press conference by transcribing quotes from coaches and athletes. Through these experiences, I developed skills in live-event coverage, digital content creation, and professional communication while collaborating with seasoned professionals and representing Auburn University in a public-facing role.
This hands-on experience taught me how to work quickly and accurately under pressure, strengthened my writing and technical design skills, and deepened my understanding of media operations in collegiate athletics.
Here is a 93 page media guide I worked on with some sample pages below.
Football
As part of my internship with Auburn Athletics, I played an integral role in supporting the communications team during the 2024 football season. On game days, I arrived four hours before kickoff and stayed well after the game concluded to assist with pre- and post-game responsibilities.
I was responsible for managing all media credentials, checking in and organizing hundreds of media professionals including journalists, photographers, and student workers. I ensured all credentialed individuals adhered to Auburn’s sideline policies and acted as a liaison between the athletics department and media personnel throughout the game. I also helped set up the press box, restocked supplies, and served food to media and staff. In addition to game day operations, I assisted with updating the Auburn Football website, including player photos, bios, and season statistics. I attended post-game press conferences and weekly media interviews, where I recorded and transcribed player and coach quotes for use in official communications and media outlets.
This experience taught me how to handle high-pressure, fast-paced environments while maintaining professionalism, managing large-scale logistics, and communicating clearly with a diverse group of professionals.
I attended post-game press conferences and weekly media interviews, where I recorded and transcribed player and coach quotes for use in official communications and media outlets.
I hope you got a good glimpse into all I learned through this internship!
Mae Shaw 