June 13, 2024 – Denton – Ashlyn Everett’s first internship is a resounding success.
The Texas Women’s senior is spending the summer interning with the Dallas Mavericks. Everett not only gets to experience what it’s like to work for a professional basketball team, she also gets to experience the excitement of a team competing for an NBA championship.
Everett, who is double majoring in fashion merchandising and marketing, started her merchandising internship the first week of June, right as the NBA Finals were getting underway.
“My first week was really exciting,” Everett said. “Having the first game of the finals in my first week was a really good experience for me because I was able to see what goes on behind the scenes.”
Although the beginning of his internship was unusual in some ways, Everett still had to go through the hardships of learning a new position.
“Overall, the week was spent going through various orientations with the other interns and training with my merchandising team,” Everett said. “On the day of the first game, we visited all of the merchandise stores at American Airlines (Center) and got a feel for what we would be doing that night. For the first watch party, I worked in our main store, The Hangar, and helped customers shop and find the items they needed.”
Merchandise sales peak during the playoffs, so Everett has been busy with customer service duties.
“I’m working on spreadsheets, updating orders and also responding to emails from customers regarding their purchases,” Everett said. “As you can imagine, we’re getting a lot of orders.”
Everett said there was a wonderful atmosphere in the office during the finals.
“Everyone is so nice and excited for the Mavs,” Everett said. “Our CEO Cynthia (Marshall) has done an incredible job of getting everyone excited for the finals and reminding us to enjoy the moment and be present in it. The first week I was so nervous and stressed about starting my internship that I wasn’t present. My merchandising team helped me be more confident and excited for this time.”
Win or lose, Everett still has an entire summer to learn all aspects of merchandising, including product development, inventory management and merchandise boards.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to work with amazing leaders and I am taking full advantage of all the knowledge I am gaining,” she said.
