Take Advantage and Enjoy

Karl Riecken

Intern, USA Swimming National Team Performance Support

I know that back in November of last year, I had no idea I would be writing this the next May. I applied for this internship on a whim and never thought once about how this could possibly be such a life-altering experience. There is no way that I may express to you reading this entry just how much of a sea change I have seen in my life over the last five months. So seemingly inconsequential in terms of time, but lasting the influence will be.

I do write this blog entry on the last day of my internship, which gives me a perspective wrought with hindsight. With USA Swimming, the opportunities to gain experience and network were endless. Though most of my time was spent working on a variety of projects to assist National Team coaches and athletes, I had ample chances to meet those same people for whom I worked. I thereby became more than simply a temporary worker, but a conduit for reliable and pertinent sport performance information.

Even the uninteresting parts of my experience are not to be classified as such at all. My most boring days are filled with closely watching video taken from each recent Olympiad and major competition for USA Swimming athletes. I had constant access to what the best have done for decades. What made those athletes so great was displayed in front of me and I was able to rewind and watch again as much as I saw fit, able to parse through the details of hand entry, breathing angle, hip position, ankle flexion, etc. Having that legacy in that detail before me offered me something quite unique.

Perchance those who have gotten to know me through this internship will roll their eyes with jaded disinterest when I speak of the outdoors in the loving way in which I do. Born in Albuquerque, yet hailing from Florida, I never realized how much I missed the desert until I found myself out here again. I feel at home with the mountains surrounding me and the rocks and sand below my feet. Nearly every weekend was filled with hiking, climbing, mountain and road biking, swimming, trail running, and of course eating. If you ever need a recommendation on a place to please your pallet, I will be glad to give you direction. I am positive I would have made it out here to find this part of my life again, but I was unsure as to when. I have USA Swimming and the USOC to thank for that.

So there you have it: three-quarters advertisement for the USOC Internship Program, one-quarter advertisement for the outdoors.

A whirlwind learning experience

As I am finishing up my second internship with the U.S. Olympic Committee, and reflecting on it all, I am amazed by how much I have had the opportunity to be involved in, the great people I have met, and the invaluable learning I have gained! Having recently graduated with a master’s degree in Sport Management, this internship is ideal for me for multiple reasons. As the intern for the Human Resources division, I have had the chance to work with several departments within the USOC and obtain a broad view of all that goes on at the organization. I have had the chance to help with recruiting new employees, learned interview techniques, assisted with a few programs put on by USA Paralympics, edited content of a couple of key manuals for USOC employees, and From a personal development perspective, it has been helpful to be exposed to many career areas and narrow down where my passions lie.

Colorado Springs has a lot to offer, from beautiful outdoor activity options to a city rich with sport and fitness, it is a great place to intern! Some of what I’ve been able to do recently, in no particular order, includes:

· Act as Volunteer coordinator for the Developing Amazing Leaders Conference, reaching an audience of people involved in Military and Paralympic Sport clubs across the United States. This experience was huge for on-the-job learning. I was given the task of recruiting, training, and managing a group of almost fifty volunteers during the conference. I needed to ensure they were at the right places, at the right times, and had the resources to fulfill their volunteer position(s). I enjoyed working with the volunteers, staff, and participants, and was exposed to an amazing amount of knowledge regarding adaptive sport programs.

· Climb the Manitou Springs Incline for about the 10th time. 1 mile straight up in 2,000 ft…we all talk about it because it’s quite a doozy! Athletes have been known to complete the challenge in times under twenty minutes, while I am just happy to make it in less than an hour each time!

· Volunteer for the inaugural Warrior Games, which offers sport competition for wounded servicemen and women. This is a truly amazing event! Check it out at http://usparalympics.org/usoc-paralympic-military-program/warrior-games-presented-by-deloitte.

· Snowshoe for the first time! It’s a great workout, and a wonderful way to traipse around in beautiful Colorado.

· Help with the planning and execution of the Paralympic Ambassador Program, working with a consulting company to train Paralympians on being effective at telling their stories in front of various audiences. We traveled to the beautiful training center in Chula Vista, California, and facilitated this event. We also had the opportunity to go out on the water with the US Men’s Rowing Team and strengthen our knowledge of ultimate teamwork! As a former rower at the University of California at Los Angeles, this was pretty cool!
· Get the ball rolling on production of a training manual for those at the USOC who supervise interns. I scheduled informal interviews/brainstorming discussions with several key USOC leaders to talk to them about what need a supervisor manual could fill. We discussed what information would be great to have readily available, and talked over what techniques they found effective in managing interns and providing a comprehensive development experience for them. It was eye-opening talking to team members from several departments, and picking their brains to see how the Human Resources department and Intern Program Manager can facilitate effective practices.

I thoroughly enjoyed my internships with the USOC, in the Human Resources and Development divisions, and have volumes to speak of the experience. It is truly a unique and privileged opportunity to be part of this Movement, and I am grateful to my supervisors, co-workers, fellow interns, and others I’ve encountered along the way for supporting me in learning on the go!

Britt Merchant

Human Resources Intern

Spring 2010

An Amazing Semester

Hi all!

My name is Kaitlyn Comiskey, and I am the intern for the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. I work at our National Office, which is located near Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. This semester has been absolutely amazing, and I have gained more experience in the field of Sport Administration than I ever could have imagined.

When I first got here in early January, the office was in the process of preparing for both the NWBA All-Star Game, as well as our National Tournament. The All-Star Game was at the beginning of February, and was in conjunction with the NBA All-Star Game. My two supervisors, Cody (our other intern), and myself had the opportunity to fly down to Dallas to help put on the All-Star Game. This consisted of transporting our athletes to and from the airport, hotel, and gym, and making sure that the game and clinic ran smoothly. It was a three day trip, and was literally nonstop. We had the opportunity to work with some awesome NBA employees, as well as meet Mark Cuban. The NWBA All-Star Game went very smoothly, and even with the foot of snow that Dallas received that same night, all of our players managed to make their flights out of Dallas that following day.

This past April, we held our 62nd Annual NWBA Championships. It is a National Tournament with 89 teams competing in it. The tournament was held in Denver, and four different playing sites were utilized. It was so awesome to be able to see everything that goes on behind the scenes of putting such a large tournament together. Before coming out here, I was a volleyball player for Bradley University, and competed in many tournaments. I had no idea how much hard work goes into putting on a tournament. From getting host hotels, transportation, gym time, scheduling the brackets, and getting all 89 teams registered, it is such a huge comittment. The tournament was five days long, and it was nonstop work. In the end, it was so rewarding to see the tournament go smoothly, and to see both kids and adults alike with smiles on their faces at the end of the day.

Outside of my internship, I have definitely taken advantage of this beautiful state. I went skiing multiple times this winter, and have done tons of hiking. I've also been to a few Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rockies, and Colorado Avalanche Games. All have a been a blast! Every weekend there's been something new and exciting to do; there is literally never a dull moment. Not only am I pumped that I got to live in such a beautiful city, but it is rewarding to know that this internship has helped me to grow so much as a person. I had the opportunity to work with some amazing people these past few months, who have taught me so much, and given me confidence that I have what it takes to eventually have a full-time career in the Sports Administration field.

2 weeks to go :(

Andrea Hull
Project Management Intern

Hey All!

This has been an absolutely amazing internship, and I'm definitely bummed it's wrapping up.

<--80's Kickball with the interns (I'm on the L, Megan Coffey on the R)

I serve as the intern to the director of the training site, and I've gotten to work on a couple of cool projects that I'll highlight below.

1)Insurance Cataloging - Back in December there was a pipeline break and one of the resident dorms flooded. I spent from January to early April collecting and inventorying damged items, replacing items (shopping woohoo!), and making sure the athletes were being honest when replacing their items.

2)Sports Management Seminar - ~20 graduate students are coming in 1 1/2 weeks for a 5 day seminar. I've been in charge of getting speakers, deciding the schedule, booking meeting and gym space, and figuring out out of class activites to do. We'll be using sport as an avenue to teach business principles so we'll be playing wheel chair basketball, water polo, doing yoga, and running the incline; we'll also be holding a mock press conference to learn strategies for talking to the media.

3) Athlete Events - With one of the dorm supervisors, I'm in charge of planning weekly athlete events for the resident athletes to participate in. Our big one is coming up on Thursday. We're holding an 80's prom for athletes and camps on site. A couple athletes on site have missed HS Prom because they chose to train here and we wanted to throw a fun event for them.

Out of work I've had a lot of fun learning how to ski (CO mountains are way better than Wisconsin hills), going on a brewery tour in Fort Collins (check out the New Belgium tour...if you're at least 21) going to sports games (nuggets and sky sox), and exploring Denver and Colorado Springs. There's always something going on, so take every opportunity that comes your way, whether it's volunteering, going on trips with fellow interns, or going out on your own to places that have been recommeneded.

Star-struck Maybe?

Hey everyone!

My name is Marion Steinberg and I am the Coaching Education intern in Colorado Springs. I absolutely love my job here, and the springs is a fantastic place to live. My favorite part of the day is getting ready in the morning and walking outside to see the sun shining on snow-capped mountains & Pikes Peak!

The Coaching Education department is responsible for providing coaches, athletes, and high performance directors with reliable information on training, coaching, ethics, etc. We work with the other Sport Performance Departments (physiology, technology, nutrition, psychology) to put valuable resources up on teamusa.org, and we also manage another website- usacoaching.org. Additionally, our department hosts a variety of conferences throughout the year.

My favorite part of my internship so far has been working to put together the 2010 Training Design Symposium, which was held at the OTC last weekend. It was extremely exciting to meet so many accomplished coaches and executives! I even got to meet author Dan Coyle, who wrote Hardball: A Season in the Projects (Keanu Reaves movie!), Lance Armstrong's War, and The Talent Code.


Other notable coaches in attendance were Guy Baker- who is pretty much the greatest Water Polo coach of the era, Hugh McCutcheon- who coached the U.S. Men's Volleyball team to a Gold medal in Beijing, and Carol Callan- who was Director of the U.S. Women's Basketball Team that has achieved Gold medals in the past four Olympics!

I also got a chance to go out to dinner downtown with Mike Chu, Mike Anthony, and Nicholas Gill- who are all high performance coaches and managers for the New Zealand All Blacks! We got to share stories about life in Australia & New Zealand (I studied abroad there)- and I learned so much about sport just talking with them for a couple hours.

I felt like I was in the hollywood of sports for three days, it was an awesome experience!


Outside of work I have had the opportunity to really explore Colorado Springs and the outdoors.

Some of the things I've done include...



Learning Judo & Fencing with the other interns:

(me and my roommate Kaitlyn)










Going skiing at Monarch mountain:


(Taylor and Me at the very very very top of Monarch- 11,000+ ft!)

Going to a Colorado Avalanche game:

Climbing up the Incline!!
(basically a giant makeshift staircase going up a mountain)









Overall my time here has been absolutely fantastic. I feel so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to gain relevant work skills, build my network, and explore Colorado.

Hey everyone. My name is Alex Setoodeh and I am a media relations at the OTC in Colorado Springs. I am originally from Bethesda, MD which is a suburb of Washington, DC and I am currently finishing up grad school at Georgetown University. I did my undergrad at Northeastern University in Boston.

I am loving Colorado and can't believe my internship is over half way done. It has been pretty crazy here since I arrived in January. During the games I was in the office 7 days a week and every other day I was there until about midnight working on the Daily Wrapup. Now that the games are over and we have finally moved into the new headquarters, things have calmed down a bit. My basic duties are composing and formatting the Olympic Sports Scene every week, responding to fan mail, scheduling and escorting around on site media, writing athlete bios, working with my boss on Team for Tomorrow projects and appearances, and I recently wrote my first feature article for the new online version of Olympic Beat magazine. Overall, I have gotten a lot of great experience so far.

Outside of work, I have met a lot of amazing people. The intern class this semester is an awesome group and I have made some great friends. The intern group has done a lot of fun things out here, and we are definitely taking advantage of our surroundings. We have the Intern Olympic Games every week, where we learn and compete in a different sport. Currently my team is in first place, and hopefully we will stay there! Now that baseball season is going on I have been to two Sky Sox *(the Rockies triple-a team) games and I know the entire intern group is attending one in May, a few of us also went to an Avalanche game a few weeks ago. I have also gone snowboarding a bunch of times while here. I bought a season pass before I came out and I just learned that A-basin will be open till mid June so there is still plenty of time left to go! I have two friends coming into town this weekend, and next weekend I am off to Vegas so it should be a pretty crazy few weeks.

I will be enjoying my time with the other interns for the next five weeks before they all leave, my internship lasts a month longer than theirs which is sad because I don't want to see anyone go. This experience has been incredible and I have learned so much that will help me in the future.

Welcoming the World to Colorado Springs!

Hi everybody!

My name is Lauren Magliola and I work at U.S. Figure Skating as the Event Intern for the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships 2010, which took place right here in Colorado Springs last week!

Synchronized skating is the youngest of the five disciplines in figure skating (ladies, mens, pairs, dance, and synchro) and the World Championships is highest level competition in the sport. As a former synchronized skater for Miami University (the one in Ohio, not Florida - Go 'Hawks!), it has been incredible to be involved in the planning side of this event, which I never got to see as a competitor.

Team USA Competing at Worlds in Colorado!

I've been in Colorado Springs preparing for the Championships since September. Some of my jobs have included communicating with competing teams and federations, taking ticket orders and answering questions from spectators, helping organize hotel rooms and meals for competitors and officials, and helping plan off-ice events like the Opening Draw Ceremony and the totally awesome Competitors' Party (which included DDR and Rock Band played on GIANT screens). Teams from 18 different countries began arriving over a week ahead of the competition (to get used to the altitude) which led to a whole extra set of logistics to deal with while helping groups of 20+ maneuver around an unfamiliar city in a foreign country.

Once the competition began, I was on call pretty much 24 hours a day to help teams with any difficulties or questions they might have, all with the goal of making their stay in Colorado Springs as easy as possible so that skaters could focus on their performance. I got to meet coaches and team managers who I had been communicating with over e-mail for months from places like Sweden, Finland, South Africa, Croatia, Australia, Germany, and Hungary. I was able to sit and watch the entire competition, which included some of the highest level skating I have ever seen at a World Championships, and had the honor of being the person in charge of getting the correct flags ready for awards (including the stars and stripes!) as soon as the final scores were posted.

Although my last few weeks have been pretty much consumed by work, I've had countless amazing experiences in Colorado since September. I've learned to fence and play team handball as a part of the Intern Olympics, seen Jason Mraz live at the incredible Red Rocks Amphitheater, seen Darius Rucker at the not quite as incredible (but still fun!) Colorado State Fair, and of course gotten out and hiked some of the great trails found all around Colorado Springs. On the weekend, you'll most likely find me running around Garden of the Gods or Red Rock Open Space, and I have managed to get myself up the Incline once (I swear I'll get up there again soon!). My next goal is to make it to the top of Pikes Peak, but I don't really have to worry about following through with that promise until the snow melts, of course.

As I look back on the last year, I can't believe how many great people I've met and how much I've learned while in Colorado Springs! It's definitely been a once in a life time adventure, and I know I'll be using the knowledge and experience I've gained here long after my internship has ended.

Tyler Warren
Colorado Springs: Strength and Conditioning

Let me start off by saying that Colorado as a whole is a beautiful state. If you are an outdoors type person, you will love it here. With that aside, my internship has been an amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. The first day I got here I got unpacked and then set out to see the weight room where I would be spending the majority of my time.

While working here I have learned a lot of different things, including lifting technique, program design, coaching cues, and more. The Colorado Springs location is great in the sense that there are three coordinators here to help educate the interns. So far, I have been able to get the perspective of three different coaches with three different backgrounds. When starting out in this field, it is important to get a variety of information to understand different viewpoints. Not only is it nice to get quality information from several different sources, but I have also increased my network of professional contacts. All too often you hear it’s not what you know but who you know; this is something that does hold some truth and can be your friend or foe (so start networking if you haven’t already). I don’t want to get too detailed with this, but from a work standpoint, this is a great opportunity to gain experience in the field of Strength and Conditioning.

Luckily, I was paired up with a roommate who is practically like my little brother. I was worried that I would butt heads with whomever I would have to room with, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. For the most part, I get along really well with all of the interns and have enjoyed hiking as well as many other local outings with the group. One of the best experiences was snowboarding for the first time and shredding the nar nar. I’m pretty much awesome at snowboarding now.

What I have written here is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many experiences that, if I were to elaborate on each, I could type for days. I tried to keep this blog short and sweet. If you have any questions or just want more information on what I have touched on, please feel free to contact me via email at tww0711@yahoo.com. I would be more than happy to exchange emails or chat on the phone about the experience as a whole.

Hey everyone, my name is Jenna Fredericks and I am the intern for sports medicine in Lake Placid. I am a New Yorker, born and raised, so I didn’t have much getting used to in Lake Placid as far as the weather and small town atmosphere. The Lake Placid OTC is like a small family in it of itself because we all work in one building. Everyone sees each other basically everyday and everyone knows who you are and what your name is. It’s definitely nice to be known as Jenna, instead of “what’s her name, the intern in sports med.” Everyone is very nice and helpful, and it certainly makes the days go by much smoother.

My basic duties on a day-to-day basis consist of entering any new medical information and HIPAA’s into the database, keeping the schedules of our athletic trainers, greeting and assisting any athletes or personnel that come into sports med and maintaining and running the Recovery Center. Every week seems to be different, depending on the activities that are going on in Lake Placid.

Thus far in 2010, we have hosted a World Cup (skiing), US Championships (skiing) and America’s Cup (bobsled/skeleton). We also host many camps and smaller based competitions in between. Needless to say, these events keep sports med on their toes because there is always someone who doesn’t make it down the hill or track smoothly. I have seen enough bruises and sprains to last me awhile. But that’s the nature of an elite athlete; no pain, no gain.

It was great working for the USOC during the Olympics in February, because no other work place actually encourages you to watch TV and the Olympics during work. A few of the Olympians returned to Lake Placid after the games and we were fortunate enough to see Justin Olsen’s (4-man bobsled) Gold Medal and Elana Meyer’s (Women’s bobsled) Bronze Medal. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience to actually see and hold an Olympic Medal.
As my time here comes to an end, I can truly walk away knowing that I did my best and tried my hardest to make sports med run smoothly. I have enjoyed my experience and the opportunity to meet so many great people. This experience has without a doubt given me tools and knowledge that will help me in my future endeavors, and I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity.

Hello, my name is Shannon Whiteway and today is my 24th Birthday! I am an intern for the Paralympics Military Program and love it! I am originally from Colorado Springs and just recently moved back from CA because my husband got out of the USMC. Within my internship I have had the opportunity to meet many great and inspiring people, all of which have added to my experience here.

* My husband Thomas and I, homecoming day 2008.

So far I have worked with Team Semper Fi on booking flights and the logistics of their events once a month. I have even been to each event that has been held across the country, which is such an awesome thing to watch these injured Marines overcome their injuries and participate in sport!

* TSF at the Air Force Academy, Jan 2010

In March I also headed to Vancouver for the Parlympic Games, which to say the least was memorable! I was actually a blind guide for the Executive Director of the Blind Veterans Association, Tom Miller. It was something I never had done before but by the end of the trip I felt like a pro. It also taught me not to take anything for granted because just being able to see is such a gift! While I was there we stayed in Vancouver and Whistler where we got to watch USA participate in Sledge Hockey, Biathlon, & Alpine Skiing.

* Tom Miller, Karen Guenther and I at the Olympic Flames in Vancouver.

My biggest task right now is working on the inaugural Warrior Games. I am responsible for the volunteer side of things for the games. I have been in contact with those who have offered to volunteer throughout the community, military bases and even other states! I am very excited for the turn out and I know that this will be a successful event for years to come because of the hard work that everyone is putting into it!

Overall this has been such an amazing time in my life and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone!

The life of a paralympics intern, Spring 2010

Hello everyone, my name is Alexandra Smalls, but just call me Alex. I have been an intern at the United States Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO for two and a half months now. I work with the Paralympics department, particularly the Military division.

So far, I have worked hard managing the master spreadsheet of flight information for those traveling to the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver, BC Canada. In addition, I was able to go to Team Processing in Denver to hand out all of the Ralf Lauren and Nike apparel to the athletes and staff. That was really cool because I spent six weeks looking at everyone's name on the spreadsheet that it was nice to finally put a face with the name. The US did well at the Games, bringing home around 13 medals, including the sled hockey team who won gold!

Now that the games are over, I have shifted gears to focus more on the Warrior Games that will be hosted here at the OTC, Air Force Academy, and Memorial Park, May 10-15. This is really exciting because these are the inaugural Games and I have a hand in putting it together. The Warrior Games is where 200 total service men and women from each branch come together to compete in a seven multi-sport event. A lot of people are excited and want to get on board with this movement. I can't wait to see how everything will come together!

Time has flown so quickly so far and I have done lots of things I never thought to do or would have had the opportunity to do if I were still in Atlanta. In late January, I went to the Garden of the Gods. It was so beautiful there. You feel like you're as high as the mountains and on top of the world. I know my Dad would really enjoy that and plan to take him when he comes to visit in a week. In February, I went snowshoeing for the first time up in the mountains. Gorgeous site. I felt like I was in the middle of a Winter Wonderland. I don't think I've seen anything like it. That experience was really fun, tiring, but fun. A week later, I went to Seattle to visit my sorority sister and her family. I have never been to the west coast. CO was the furthest west I had been until this trip. I figured if I've come this far, I might as well keep going west. I had a really great time. They took me all around the city and up the Space Needle. Seattle is really a beautiful place despite all the rain.

We also started our own Intern Olympic Games. So far we've competed in water polo, a 5K run, handball, shooting, sitting volleyball, and an ESPN March Madness bracket. Next week we play wheelchair basketball. These events have been fun but also challenging. Last week I attended a Nuggets game for OTC Night. I had a really great time experiencing another CO attraction.

So far, being in Colorado Springs has been an adventure. I've done a lot of activities thus far and expect to do more before my departure. Working with Paralympics has shown me a lot about the behind the scenes operations of events and has been a great tool to prepare me for my future =)

Not every day...

Hello my name is Casey Fisher and I am an intern with the Emerging Sport Program with the Paralympics. From the moment I walked onto the campus in Colorado Springs, things have been beyond unbelievable. I have met people, shared stories, and seen things that I never thought I would. This is truly a very unique experience and everything that I have been lucky enough to be apart of will stay with me forever.

As the Emerging Sport Intern my main responsibilities include managing the database of potential athletes that have been identified at various sport camps around the country, and continually staying in contact with them as they pursue the dream of making one our elite teams. Also, I have had the privilege of working a military sports camp with injured Semper Fi vets who have returned from defending our freedoms.

I was fortunate enough to work with them the entire weekend and was able to share stories, dreams of competing, and created some new friends along the way. It's not every day that you can work with people you consider your heros, and these military vets are my heros. I can't thank the USOC and the service members enough for allowing me to be apart of that unique experience!

I was also apart of the Team Processing weekend one week ago for all our Paralympians. Meeting these elite athletes was a life changing experience and I am looking forward to following them as they begin competition! All of us interns are in a great position as these Olympic and Paralympic games are taking place while we are here and we get to see how the process unfolds.

Outside of just being at the USOC, the best part of this internship is the opportunities I have to network with coworkers. There is an enormous wealth of knowledge and experience here that it is impossible to not walk away with hundreds of contacts for my future career. I am currently taking masters classes and I will complete them in July with a degree in Sports Management/Administration. I am pursuing a career in sports and entertainment promotions and/or sponsorships.

I know it sounds like a broken record, but being here is a dream come true and I am incredibly lucky to have this opportunity. All the interns are great and we all understand how unique it is just to walk down the Olympic Path! I am looking forward to what the remainder of the internship brings and continually networking with the great minds on campus!

Vancouver 2010 The Final Week

Hi, my name is Brittney Moore and I am an intern with the International Games Division of the US Olympic Committee. For my internship, I have been fortunate enough to travel to and work in Vancouver, BC during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The past 4 1/2 weeks have been incredible up here in Vancouver, BC. Since arriving in Canada, I have been working in a variety of areas and meeting a lot of amazing people. I started out my Games experience working in Team Processing where athletes receive their Opening and Closing apparel, as wells as Village Wear and gifting items (hats, scarves, gloves, shoes, etc).
I then went to Whistler, BC for a week to work in the Performance Services Center and assist with operational support services. After the Opening Ceremony, I was transferred back to Vancouver and I have been working in USA House for the remainder of the Games.

Of course, the days can be long (10+ working hours) and "days off" don't really exist, but I have been able to do some great work, meet both current and past Olympians (Seth Wescott), as well as celebrities (Cuba Gooding Jr. and Steven Colbert) and truly have a once in a lifetime experience.
I have also been able to see a few events, including Speedskating, Women's Ice Hockey and Women's Bobsled. Being in Vancouver for the Olympics has been exciting and a worthwhile experience. I can only hope that this will not be my last Olympic Games experience!

^Seth Wescott (Snowboard Cross 2010 Gold Medalist)

^Charlie at the Women's Hockey Game USA vs Sweden
(IG-Transportation Intern)

Amazing Awaits is Here!

Hi! My name is Rebecca Johnson and I am the New Media/Journalism intern with the USOC. This has been one of the most exciting and educational experiences of my life! The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games are coming to a close and life will be getting back to normal soon. During the Olympic Winter Games my department had rotating shifts throughout the day and evening in order to cover all of the events going on. We no longer worked our normal 8am-5pm shift, but rather from 8am-2pm, 2pm-8pm or 8pm-2am. Our team did an amazing job with Teamusa.org! There was so much going on, but we handled all of it, (even technical difficulties) and short staffed too! Before half of our department left for Vancouver, there were six of us to manage Teamusa.org, but during the Olympic Winter Games there were only 3 of us to manage it full time. So during our shifts we were individually and entirely responsible for all of the updates to the site-and believe me, people were watching! We ran everything (breaking news, top stories, team news, in the news, photos, photo galleries, blogs, videos, schedules, results, features, ads, polls and more)!


I have met so many amazing people since coming to work for the USOC! My supervisors are fantastic and I probably have the best coworker of all the interns! Yep, I'm pretty lucky to get to work with Emily Pan. :)

One of the most memorable moments here for me was when I was given the assignment of covering the USA Women's Hockey game against Finland at the World's Arena for Teamusa.org. I got to meet and interact with top reporters and photographers from all over the country. It was such an honor to have the opportunity to interview the players and head coach Mark Johnson. Before coaching the USA Women's Hockey Team, he was the star player for the USA Men's Hockey Team during the Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games and carried his team to victory over the Soviet Union. He was a key member of the "Miracle on Ice" Team, and I had the honor and privilege of meeting and interviewing him. I will never forget it!

The Intern Olympic Games are starting up tomorrow with Water Polo! We are a lot like the athletes in certain ways-we work hard, but play harder! It will be interesting to see how each of the teams develop their dynamic...

The USOC has a slogan, "Amazing Awaits." Well, 'Amazing' is here and happening now, each and every day. We live it and breathe it. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be surrounded by Olympic hopefuls, Olympians and Olympic medalists all day, every day! We live, eat and hang out together. How many people can say that they have ever done that?!

I'm excited for what the future has in store for all of us here after the Olympic Winter Games come to a close and as the Paralympic Winter Games just begin!

Amazing Awaits!

My name is Ashley Gartland and I am an intern with USA Boxing. I can't even begin to summarize everything I have learned and experienced since I started. As soon as I arrived I hit the ground running with immediate responsibility, and after two weeks I was sent to Cincinnati, OH to run the 2010 USA Boxing U-19s National Champions as the USA Boxing Representative. I met so many people and built great relationships, not to mention I was able to learn first hand how to run a USA Boxing qualifier. I really enjoyed planning and executing the event with our major sponsor R & R Promotions out of Cincinnati, they were very helpful in the execution of the event. Below is a picture from ringside...

The only thing I regret is not being there for the last day to see the medal ceremony for the young athletes that qualified for the Youth World Chmapionships. Not to mention being able to see 2 time Olympian Rau’shee Warren fight in a showcased bout. But, as many people have told me, being able to go to Opening Ceremonies is an unbelievable opportunity that I should take. So I did, and I will say it was AMAZING!

Since then I have been working on sending the qualifying athletes to the Youth Worlds in Baku, Azerbaijan in April. While I am managing this process I have been working with our Equipment and Apperal Sponsor, Everlast, to come up with outfitting for Team USA when they compete againt Italy at the end of March and beginning of April. I am also in the process of putting a plan together for improving how we can hold our #1 and #2 athletes accountable so we can provide them better support as a NGB.

As you can tell I have been nothing short of busy since I set foot at the OTC, but I would not have it any other way. The intern class is awesome and I am so happy to be here with them. We have a great group of people, I only wish I could spend more time with them. Everyone likes to have a good time and try new things, such as learning Judo during orientation - which was awesome! I am so happy to have this opportunity to work with an NGB and the USOC. This past month has been unforgettable, I can only imagine how great these next few months and hopfully years will be!

Life as a Media Relations intern

Hello everyone, my name is Taylor Thomas and I’m one of the two new Media Relations interns for the Olympic Committee. In May 2009, I graduated with a Public Relations degree from Purdue University (Boiler Up!). I moved here from Muncie, Indiana…home of Garfield and David Letterman. I’ve been in Colorado Springs for a month now, and I absolutely love it. Coming from Indiana, I’m used to looking at miles and miles of cornfields. I still can’t believe that everyday when I look out my window, I get to see Pikes Peak. Since being here, I’ve met great friends from all around the country. We’ve gone to a USA Women’s Hockey vs Finland game at the World Arena, hiked Garden of the Gods, spent a weekend in Denver, volunteered for USA Wrestling, and are about to compete in our own Intern Olympics (GO TEAM 2)!



The first weekend we were here, most of the interns went a few miles away to Garden of the Gods. Garden of the Gods is a public park which has numerous trails for hiking, walking, mountain biking, rock climbers, and horseback riding. Interns, Courtney, Megan, and I hiked for about an hour, while taking gorgeous pictures of the red rock as well as Pikes Peak.



Last week, as an intern class, we went to see the USA Women’s Hockey team play in their final scrimmage against Finland. The US team won 5-1! This was my first professional hockey game and I absolutely loved it. Considering I can’t even skate backwards, these women were amazing.

I can’t believe I am working for the United States Olympic Committee. In a short amount of time, I have learned so much since being here. It’s extremely exciting to work for the USOC right now because of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Since I work in media relations, we are very busy dealing with media requests, producing Athlete of the Month nominations, writing scripts for ‘Going for the Gold’ Vodcast videos, and handling fan mail.

Living on the Olympic Training Center is surreal. I would’ve never thought that growing up, I’d be working at the place where ‘amazing awaits’. I’m constantly surrounded by the best of the best athletes which represent our country in competition every four years.

I can’t wait for what the next four months here in Colorado Springs brings. I’m extremely lucky to have this opportunity. I love the group of interns here, and am having so much fun everyday.

Hello from sunny California!

Hey everyone,

My name is Dana Leenheer and I am the Venue Operations Intern at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center in sunny California. I recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sport Management, GO BLUE! I am originally from Grand Rapids, MI. I had never visited California before this internship. The weather here is amazing! It has been in the 60s to 70s and at least partly sunny almost everyday I have been here, except for a brief rain storm one weekend. I guess Ann Arbor, Michigan just received 10 inches of snow over the past couple of days, so I feel like I am in paradise here.



As I said earlier I am the Venue Operations Intern at the CVOTC. I have really enjoyed the experience so far. The internship has changed week to week so it definitely keeps me on my toes. My job entails working with venues, transportation, administration, events, and other areas as needed with my main focus being venues/events. The people I have met here are awesome and I am learning a lot about how the Olympic movement functions and how that relates to how a training center operates.



This past weekend we held the So Cal BMX Nationals here at the training center. This was my first experience working with this sport. I had actually never watched a BMX competition on TV or in person before so this was a chance for me to experience the sport and see what it is all about. I was amazed by the wide range of ages of the participants. There was a 5 year old and under category all the way up to 40 and over!

I love it here in California and would highly recommend this internship to anyone wanting to learn about this area of the sport industry. I feel very lucky and honored to be a part of this program, and I am excited to see what the next 4 months bring!



Dana Leenheer
Venue Operations Intern
Chula Vista OTC

I'm Just Livin' the Dream!

Hey,



My name is Spencer Duke. I am an intern in Paralympics (THE best department in the complex) where I work with Community Programs. Though I anticipated having a great experience, I have been shocked with how much I like both the work and the people. It has been really busy, but that's great when you enjoy what you are doing. I'm from Edmond, Oklahoma where I attend the University of Central Oklahoma. Were it not for this great opportunity, I'd be finishing up my junior year as an Exercise and Fitness Management major. I am also a student athletic trainer in the Broncho Athletic Department. (Go Bronchos!)

As I said, I work with Community Programs in the Paralympics department and I consider it the best on complex. We have lots of great things happening. I am currently involved with the Paralympic Experience Vancouver which is an event where we take students and leaders with physical disabilities to the Paralympic Games in Vancouver. I’m also working on the Developing Amazing Leaders Conference which will be held here in Colorado Springs towards the end of my internship.



I can't believe I've written two paragraphs without mentioning how much I LOVE COLORADO. I've been able to experience many new things that simply are not possible in Oklahoma. During our first weekend here, a couple of my fellow interns and I headed out to visit the Garden of the Gods. I had never seen anything like it before and was amazed with the crazy rock formations that I saw. We spent a couple hours hiking the trails and climbing our way up the rocks which was pretty cool.



Shortly after I began the internship, I heard people talking about "The Incline." Being new to the area, I had no idea what they were talking about and soon learned that it was pretty much a big set of stairs on the side of a mountain. I was told it was something that I had to do so my roommate and I decided to give it a shot during our second weekend in Colorado. We thought we'd walk up the stairs to enjoy the view. I heard the warning but never really believed we had anything to worry about. We're both in decent shape, or so I thought we were.



We arrive at the base of the incline and decided we were going to take it slow. Still, we wanted to see what our time would be. We started a timer and began our trek up the incline without a care in the world. 3 minutes later we took our first break. I knew then that we were in way over our heads. My legs were burning, I was already breathing hard, and our adventure had just begun. People began to pass us and we would ask them how much longer it would take until we got to the top, and most of the times we were met with laughs and them saying “You’re saying that now? This is the easy stuff.” We were not pleased, but we pressed on.

As we got higher, it got colder. And people began to pass us at a much quicker rate. We had gone from going 3 minutes between breaks to taking a break every 20-30 seconds. When we stopped, it was no longer just getting a swig of water and catching our breath. Instead we were practically collapsing onto anything we felt safe enough to sit on. One minute breaks to catch up on our breathing became five minute survival periods. We began mapping out our breaks.

After over an hour of this, we finally reached the top. We were thrilled and both of us talked about how that was the hardest thing we had ever done. We took a couple of minutes to enjoy the amazing view. Words don't do justice, so I won't even try. Suffice it to say that we could see everything for many miles to the east and Pike's Peak to the west. We decided to take the long way down on the Barre Trail which was actually pretty cool. The trail was somewhat icy in spots but was a nice change of pace after we nearly killed ourselves on the way up.

So I survived the incline and have many more things planned. I want to ski/snowboard for the first time. My 21st birthday will be happening soon. My girlfriend, Stacey, will get to come out and visit. The 2nd Intern Olympics will be taking place (I guarantee a win for Team Number Four!). And all the while I get to work on behalf of some of the most inspiring athletes in the world.




This opportunity has already been a life changing blessing and I get to do it for four more months. Sweet!

Spencer Duke
Paralympic Community Programs
Colorado Springs OTC