Learning the Sports Business

After his first year at Tufts University in Boston, South Side High School class of 2009 graduate Tom Howard returned to Long Island this summer to participate in an exclusive internship with the New York Islanders.

Howard was one of only 30 college students who took part in the summer program that started in early June.

"'Islanders University' was created to be a memorable, first-class, hands-on experience for the interns," said Michele Finkelstein, human resources manager for the Islanders. 

After starting off in the sponsorship department, Howard moved around several departments including community events, social media, marketing, outside sales, group sales, merchandise and ticket operations. The program was hosted at the Islanders' offices at Nassau Coliseum, but Howard did some work at the team's "Iceworks" facility in Syosset with the community events department.

"At the beginning, I was a little intimidated working in the office with full-time employees and high-level executives," Howard said. "I wanted to impress everyone and not mess anything up. But the employees were extremely welcoming and made me feel comfortable very quickly."

Each week, the interns had lunch with a guest speaker. Some of the more notable speakers included Islanders owner Charles Wang, General Manager Garth Snow, and even some players like Josh Bailey and Andrew MacDonald.

Howard said he learned some valuable lessons from Islanders executives, some of which he thinks can help guide him not only in his career, but throughout his life. "I was told that making positive impressions and getting to know the right people is very important," he said. "I definitely learned inter-personal skills and just the ability to work in a large group for one common goal."

He added that it was intriguing to watch the inner workings and learn the nuances of a sports franchise.

"It was definitely interesting to see all the behind the scenes work that goes into a sports franchise," he said. "I was able to see how each department kind of works on their own, yet it is all intertwined as well."

Finkelstein echoed Howards sentiments, adding that one of the main points of the program is to give the interns  "a real feel for how the organization works together to achieve the ultimate goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to the Coliseum."