Brenna Cockerill is a recent Michigan State alumna with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and minors in Health Promotion and Leadership of Organizations. As a soccer player at Michigan State, athletics mean a lot to Cockerill. When she heard about the Nashville Predators’ Amateur Hockey Fan Development Internship, she was thrilled to combine her passion for communications and sports.
Before submitting her application, Cockerill utilized her resources as a student athlete. She was able to get assistance with her resume from Student-Athlete Support Services and said everyone in the department was willing to help. Upon submitting her newly edited resume, Cockerill landed the job.
A big part of Cockerill’s internship was her work with a community program called “Try Hockey for Free.” The goal of the program is to give kids an opportunity to give hockey a trial run without investing in all of the expensive gear. Cockerill was able to strengthen her communication skills by organizing registration forms for the program and heading all logistics such as getting the gear for the kids, making sure helmets are up to code and expiration, checking everyone in and running the program.
Cockerill’s favorite memory of the summer was being at Bridgestone, where the team plays, and networking with everyone there. She loved working the with kids and loved seeing her work come to life when the program was successful. She explained that she was happy she did an internship.
“It’s valuable experience that you really do need coming out of college,” she said.