This past summer I had the opportunity to intern for the Houston Texans NFL Organization. The internship concentrated on corporate development, the wide range of implementing, executing and planning strategies in order to meet all the needs for an organization. The internship greatly impacted my thoughts about life after college and made me realize that I would like to work in the field of corporate development.

           The knowledge I gained from my experience with the Houston Texans directly relates to the journalism course called The Carolina Agency. The Carolina Agency is a student-led public relations firm. In the class, small teams execute plans in order to meet the needs of their specific clients. I learned that maintaining face-to-face relationships and measuring client satisfaction is important because it builds personal realtionships.

          In class, I learned the importance of promptly and effectively fulfilling the needs of clients through personal, face-to-face contact. During the Houston Texans internship, I was given a binder in the beginning of our summer internship. This binder is located in my artifacts and includes the Texans missions statement and values. It also includes daily schedules and meetings with clients and sponsors. On the schedule, it states VIP tents. During the training camp portion of the internship, I would have to learn all the faces and names of the sponsors that were coming to watch training camp. This way the sponsors knew they were important and the Texans were committed to their organization as much as they are committed to the Texans. I provided support for many events including; the NFL open practices and training camps, community service events, and the Texans vs 49ers preseason game. During training camp, many of the Houston Texans sponsors would set up sponsor activities, and pre and post sponsor events. Houston Texans corporate development pride themselves on the close personal relationship with their clients no matter the size of the client's organization. During my internship, the corporate development department did not make any deals, events, or updates over the phone; instead, they met with the sponsor face-to-face. The team wanted each sponsor to understand its value to the company. I often assisted in meetings with sponsors and updated them about the successes of sponsoring the Houston Texans. Using the same methods I learned during the internship, I made sure that once we signed a client, our group met the client face-to-face to start building a personal relationship. Making this effort showed clients that our agency is loyal to their organization and truly cares about their success.

             Having a personal relationship with the clients has allowed The Carolina Agency to better measure the clients’ level of satisfaction. During discussions, one must pay close attention to client’s tone of voice and body language to determine if the client is happy with the services and make necessary adjustments. I realized effort resulting in clients that are as committed to your organization as much as you are committed to them. The artifact labed, The Carolina Agency Instagram, gives the public a visual of the personal realtionships and committment we have with our clients. The Houston Texans internship taught me the importance of personal relationships with clients, and applying it to The Carolina Agency was a way to connect my beyond-the-classroom experiences to the classroom.