Internship Spotlight – Jenny Leung, Nike

Jenny Leung is a MIS/OM major set to graduate in May 2020.  This summer she interned for Nike as a Procurement Analyst Intern in Beaverton, Oregon.  

How did you get this internship?

I got this internship through the athletics program. I am a gymnast on the U of A team, and our athletics program is sponsored by Nike, so I had the opportunity to apply for the internship. After I applied I received an interview with a recruiter and had a couple more interviews after, and ultimately got my offer for the internship in late February.

What was a typical day like?

There wasn’t really a typical day because every day was different. However, I would sometimes wake up early in the morning, work out before work, and then go from meeting to meeting throughout the campus. I would sometimes have all day to be at my desk, or sometimes I wouldn’t even go to my building at all.

What was your favorite part of the experience?

My favorite part of the experience was going white water rafting with all of the other interns! The internship program takes us out onto the Deschutes River, about 2 hours away, and we were able to go out on the water and it was amazing!

If you worked on a big project, please describe it below:

I worked in brand procurement this summer, and my main summer project was around performance media. So media at Nike is broken up into 2 buckets, brand media, which is to create awareness, and performance media, which is to drive conversion. I was focused on performance media with the target audience of Gen Z and trying to research and figure out which channels through performance media would be most effective if Nike were trying to market to this key audience.

What did you find most challenging about your internship?

I found the ambiguity most challenging about my internship. I came into the internship not knowing anything about procurement or my function, and I had to come up with a strategy given the prompt of an extremely broad project. It was easily overwhelming at first and had a lack of structure as to how I was supposed to go about my project, so that was challenging for me.

What advice do you have for other students looking for a similar internship?

My advice for other students looking for a similar internship is to ask questions and to be curious. People are always willing to help you if you show interest in what they do, and they will take note that you want to learn and grow.

How did Eller prepare you for your internship?

Eller prepared me for my internship by teaching me how to network, how to represent myself well in front of stakeholders, and how to present in front of a room. Nike is an enormous organization, and it can be super overwhelming to up to someone, but Eller definitely taught me to be confident when talking to others and to appear professional in a networking setting.

Did your internship employer provide housing or transportation assistance? 

Housing – my employer provided housing

Housing – my employer provided financial assistance for housing and/or moving