Written by Grace DeWitt, USC blog contributor
School may not be in session, but many USC student-athletes stayed busy this summer pursuing a variety of internships. As the start of the fall semester approaches, we'll feature some of the unique experiences several Trojans had this offseason.
Name: Dominique Randle Year: RS Junior
Sport: Women's Soccer
Internship: Special Olympics World Games
Grace DeWitt (GD): I know your internship was with the Special Olympics, but what was your exact role?
Dominique Randle (DR): With the Special Olympics there's the Games Organizing Committee, so I interned with the Organizing Committee in the department of community relations and fan development.
GD: What was it about the internship that interested you?
DR: Last year, they hosted the [Special Olympics Summer Games] invitational at USC, and I went with a couple other student-athletes. We were really inspired, so I thought, "Okay, next year when they come to LA, I want to do something." I originally applied for special events, but the person in charge had just filled the spot. But she said there were other openings and forwarded me to HR. I had a conversation with their HR people and they put me in contact with the community relations department.
GD: Since it wasn't what you originally wanted to do, did you know what community relations would entail?
DR: They originally do a phone screening, so they get more of background of your personality and see which role would benefit you and what you want. I was talking to HR and basically what they said was, "It seems like you want to be able to interact more with people, something a little more fulfilling, rather than just being behind the scenes," - which is what special events would have been more of. What was unique about community relations is that I got to go out to events, like I went to Wango Tango and got to interact with all the people going to the concert. It was things like that that we got a chance to be a part of.
GD: What would you say was the most rewarding part of the internship?
DR: My department goes out and recruits people to come volunteer and cheer on the athletes for a couple hours. Going to the Galen Center, for example, and seeing it full with everyone cheering was probably the most inspiring thing. Also, USC had the Trojan Games and I helped on the Special Olympics side to put that on. Seeing all of my friends and student-athletes paired with a kid and cheering on our competitors was probably one of the most fulfilling moments of the entire time.
GD: What was most challenging?
DR: The most challenging thing was selling the sports that a lot of people don't hear about. In the Convention Center we had more non-traditional sports than what you'd see in the regular Olympics, like bocce and handball. Getting out of your comfort zone and talking to people was challenging too. Sometimes people were a little hesitant to help because it wasn't the hands-on role that they wanted, but once you kind of made it a story about how important it is for athletes to have people in the stands to cheer them on, they got more inspired. A lot of people got really enthusiastic and made shirts and tried to recruit as many other people as they could.
GD: What is it about being an athlete yourself that you think made you good for the role?
DR: I think working with deadlines. No matter what was going to happen, we couldn't push things back. Certain challenges popped up that we just had to deal with on the fly, running and doing it ourselves instead of giving it to someone else. I think that was helpful. And because it's a sporting event it made it a lot more personal for me. How would I feel if no one was there watching me? That was probably the main reason why I did it, to make sure that the athletes had the best experience that they could.
GD: Did the athletes themselves teach you anything? What did you learn from them?
DR: I learned a whole different level of determination. There's this one athlete I watched for track. They wheeled him out, and we're all sitting there in the stands thinking, "is someone going to push him or is he going to wheel himself around?" Then they say, "on your marks" and they lift him out of the wheelchair, and then the gun goes off. He's crawling on his hands and knees. I'm in the front row watching him like, "wow." It was honestly probably that athlete that was most inspiring. And then there was this kid who played basketball. He kept trying to make threes the entire time, and everyone was yelling at him to pass the ball, but he was determined to make this three. It happened to be a buzzer beater in the third quarter. He just went for it, and he hit it, and he was so excited he started crying. Just being able to be resilient, and knowing what you want, that inspired me the most.
GD: Do you think there's anything you learned in the internship that you can now apply to soccer?
DR: No matter how tired you get, just remember all the people that are depending on you to do your job. Maybe sometimes I don't want to make a run, or don't want to practice in the morning, but you have a whole team and coaches and people that have invested time into your sport that you have to show up for and find the love for the game again for.
GD: What was the coolest thing about being a part of the World Games?
DR: Being able to see all of what we put together was really really inspiring. Some people didn't get a chance to go see different events, but luckily with my position I got to go from aquatics, to the track, to Galen Center for basketball. The celebrity basketball game was exciting, the unified game that they had. [The athletes] got to meet some of the celebrities there, so that was big. I got to drive Ron Artest's car. I was helping out other departments and they were like, "We just need you to help get Metta World Peace in." And I said, "Okay, whatever it takes." That was probably the highlight of working.
GD: That's awesome. What was that like?
DR: He's a lot bigger than I thought. His manager's like, "Okay, look for a navy blue Tesla." So he pulls up and he's ginormous and I'm like 5' 4''. I get in the car and am trying to park it and I can't reach the pedals. While I'm trying to adjust everything, I just take a moment and think, "I'm in Metta World Peace's Tesla right now, parking it, and chasing after him."
GD: Did you see connections between your studies and the internship? Or after doing the internship do you now think you might want to do something related, career-wise?
DR: I think it just confused me on what I want to do. I wanted to be a physical therapist when I first came in, and then my parents told me I'd be good in sports media because I love sports, so I minored in that. And then I started to get into occupational therapy. If I were to go into that field, I'd do more with people with intellectual disabilities. I think I want to be involved with sports, but something more rewarding like giving back in a community relations position. Working with Special Olympics Southern California would be really good as well.Â
GD: Obviously for athletes at USC the season doesn't really ever end because you are practicing year-round. How important do you think it is for athletes to find time for internships?
DR: Most of us are not going to play professionally, we're hoping to, but there's a big chance that we won't. I think just going out there and trying to figure out what you want is important. I met a lot of interesting people, like Jeanie Buss. Everyone who I interacted with at the Games Organizing Committee I now have a connection with, and those people look out for you. So it's networking and making sure your name gets out there, and just figuring out what you want to do and what brings you joy. I'd rather have a job that I fully enjoy and might not get as much money for than have a job that gets me all the money in the world that I hate.
