In the summer of 2019, a Sea Gull flew with the Eagles.
Salisbury volleyball’s reigning Capital Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Hailey Dougherty landed an internship for the Philadelphia Eagles in the summer of 2019.
When Dougherty was applying for marketing internships for her senior year, she stumbled across a marketing internship for the Eagles. She knew she had to jump on it fast in order to get a position.
In the fall of 2018, Dougherty had a webcam interview with the Eagles' marketing management team.
She had to answer a set of questions explaining who she was and why she was interested in interning for the Eagles.
Dougherty said most of her internships required remote interviews, something she was less than comfortable with.
“I was applying for a lot of internships for that summer, and a lot of them were webcam-based,” Dougherty said. “I applied for Under Armor, and that was webcam-based. You just record yourself answering questions, and it was a little awkward.”
But shortly after this webcam interview, Dougherty was asked to come to Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles' home stadium, for a second interview.
In January of 2019, Dougherty found out she was accepted for the internship.
The internship began in May and ended the second week of August. Dougherty worked in the fan services department of the stadium.
She worked Monday to Friday, answering phone calls and emails every day from a variety of different customers. She also helped communicate with those booking the stadium for various events.
Dougherty is a marketing major with a minor in communications, while she said the other interns were mostly majoring in sports management. She said that despite the work not being aligned with her major, she felt she was able to use the experience to develop her communication skills further and take a step out of her comfort zone.
“It was really different for me, but I thought it was a really cool opportunity,” Dougherty said. “I think it helped me more with my communication skills, and it wasn’t a marketing internship per say, but I gained so much experience from it.”
But not everything was smooth sailing for Dougherty in her time at the Linc. There was one significant conflict that happened when the Eagles and Lincoln Financial Field transitioned to mobile ticketing.
Dougherty said several customers would call in regularly with complaints about not being able to access their tickets. She said this created some conflict within the office.
“The mobile ticketing aspect as a whole was a lot, especially during the summer, because that’s when it got really busy,” Dougherty said. “So, getting yelled at a lot [by the fans, we had to say that] it was from our supervisors, it was from up top and we had to just follow through with it and figure out what works for the customers.”
What helped Dougherty the most with these conflicts were her supervisors and other interns she was working with. If she had a question, she would turn to them for help, taking the best course of action.
She said the guidance of other staff members helped her communicate conflicts and how to work through them.
“I worked with about 10-12 other interns, so we were all doing the same thing,” Dougherty said. “So, being able to turn to them and say, ‘Hey, how did you deal with this situation, what did you say to them?’ so the conflicts were easily handled.”
Dougherty said that the experience also improved her communication skills by being able to listen to what people say and learning how to handle different types of people.
Although she experienced conflicts, the internship increased her problem-solving strategies and helped her be versatile in different situations.
Dougherty’s favorite aspect of the internship was getting the chance to network with people and keep her relationships with the other interns. She gained friends from all over and keeps in touch with them today.
“I will never forget about being at training camp. That was one of the most amazing experiences,” Dougherty said. “But, my fellow interns, we still talk a lot and are kind of all in the same fields, so the people I’ve met through my internship was the best part.”
By DANIELLE TYLER
Staff writer
Featured photo: Hailey Dougherty image.