Today might have been the best day of my internship yet. There wasn’t much to do at Boshamer Stadium (baseball), so I went with my host, Casey (the Director of Turf Management and Athletic Fields/Stadiums), to prepare the football practice fields for an upcoming camp. My job was to drive a gator with a set of large brooms over the turf to groom it and to ensure the field was in perfect condition. Then, we measured out the grass football field and painted it so it would be game ready. Also while we were there, we fixed an electrical issue that caused the field lights not to turn on! For lunch, we went to Suttons Drug Store which is a fantastic, old food counter on Franklin Street that only the locals know about. I’ve been several times before and was dying to go back. After lunch, the real fun started. Since there wasn’t much to do at the fields, Casey took me on a tour of all of the athletic facilities. Boy are their athletics loaded! First, I took a tour of the brand new Lacrosse and Soccer stadium. They just built brand new locker rooms and facilities there, so I got to go inside and look around. Then we went over to the women’s basketball stadium. I saw their locker room too, but also one of the campuses main equipment rooms. I was in there for only a couple minutes, but I saw at least 10 things that I wanted! the players get so much free merchandise! From there we went to the football stadium. I got a look at their locker room, weight room, equipment room, living room, their tunnel onto the field (which I got to go on), and their media room. They had so many rooms, and everything was so nice! While I was there, I met the defense coach Dre Bly. He played in the NFL for over ten years and is in the NFL Hall of Fame. I even got to play mini basketball with him afterward. After we got done at football, we went over to the Dean Dome. That is where the Mens basketball team plays. Similarly, I went into their locker room, film room, bath room area, living room, and I even went out onto the court! There, I met the assistant coach Hubert Davis. He had a very lengthy and successful career in the NBA! All in all, today was a fantastic day because I was able to contribute a lot to the fields, but also because I got super rare access to all of the stadiums and the behind the scenes areas! I am super sad that my internship is coming to an end, because I am having so much fun. However, Casey said that if I go to school at UNC then he could get me a part-time job at the fields! Haha! It’s a great day to be a Tar Heel.
