WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION & RECREATION

HPHE 4990 – RECREATION/SPORT MANAGEMENT INTERNSHIP
FINAL EVALUATION OF INTERNSHIP BY STUDENT INTERN

INTERN: Matt Murphy DATE: December 14, 2021

AGENCY: WMU Football

1. Were you satisfied with your placement? Yes No

If not, why not?
Overall, I was satisfied with my placement in this internship. I think I learned a great
deal and am grateful for the opportunity.

2. Did you feel comfortable with the temporary adjustment from student to
employee? Yes No
Please explain:

I felt comfortable with the adjustment as I think I was in the mindset of being an
employee for a lot of the semester. This internship was six credits of my class work and I
felt like everything I did was in a professional manner as if I was in the field.

3. Were you fully aware of your duties and responsibilities as an intern?

Yes No
Please explain:

Every day, when I came into the facility, I thought it was made very clear what tasks
were needed to be accomplished. As my time progressed during this internship, I soon
learned each of the responsibilities per day during the work week.

4. Were you familiar with the functions and purposes of the agency in which you
were placed? Yes No
Please explain:

I was very familiar with the purposes and functions of WMU Football because each day I
came in, I had an obligation to do my part to try to bring WMU Football its fourth MAC
Championship.
5. To what extent did your duties as an intern relate to your academic
background?
Not at all Very Little Somewhat Very much
Please explain:

While I am a sport management major, I think there a lot of parts of this internship that
were more related to event management skills, which is are great skills to learn. There
was a lot of planning and logistics that went into the events for recruiting we had to put
on. On top of that, I still used a lot of skills from my sports management classes I had
previously taken.

6. Do you feel that you, as an intern, made an important contribution to the

agency? Yes No
Please explain:
I definitely made an important contribution to WMU Football. I made connections I will
have for a lifetime with players and coaches. I was able to relate to the players and
continue to work to get the best out of them. My efforts in recruiting helped a couple
players on the fence commit to WMU and further better the football program.

7. Did you experience any problems throughout or as a result of your field

training? Yes No
Please explain:

I don’t think so because I was willing to learn and any time I made a mistake, I
learned from it.

8. Did you feel free to discuss problems with your agency supervisor?
Yes No
Please explain:

My agency supervisor was open on my Bi-Monthly evaluations and let me know

exactly what my goals were.

9. Do you feel that you were treated as a professional? Yes No

Please explain:

I was treated like a professional and had expectations as if I was a full-time employee
at the agency. I had responsibilities and interactions with coaches and the staff that
would not indicate that I was there as an intern.

10. Were you allowed to make decisions on your own? Yes. No

Please explain:

At first, I was a little nervous to make a decision and roll with it on my own.
However, after my first bi-monthly evaluation, I was told to make more decisions and roll
with it. This gave me more confidence in myself, and I was able to thrive more in a very
fast-paced environment.

11. Were you responsible for providing your supervisor with written reports
of your activities? Yes No
Please explain:
Each week, I had to check in with my supervisor and give progress reports. I
would have to show the work I had done to ensure all our recruiting work was kept
updated.

12. How would you rate your overall field training performance?
Excellent Average Poor
Please explain:
For 18 weeks, I had many early, early mornings and I gave it my all. As my
internship continued, I was given more responsibilities as I built trust with my agency
supervisor. I learned what I want to do as a career going forward, and I am forever
grateful for the experiences I learned.

13. Would you recommend this field training agency to other students?
Yes No
Why or why not?

I would highly recommend this to any sports management student because it

gives you a tremendous understanding of all aspects of a division 1 college sports team.
You learn so many valuable skills for the industry.

14. Was this experience what you expected? Yes No

Please Explain:

Overall, while it was an unbelievable experience, it was not exactly what I expected
it to be. The reason I say that is because I discovered more of a passion for coaching
than I ever realized I did. I was much more hands-on than I expected to be and I gained
many skills that I did expect to gain.
15. Was this experience worth the amount of college credit you are receiving
for it? Yes No Please explain:

I was in six credits for this internship. I think it was worth the credit for two
classes because of the amount of time I was working there. All of the hours were worth it
and I think six credits is the perfect amount.

16. Was the university supervision you received adequate? Yes No

Please explain:

The supervision I received was adequate because I learned a lot from the
professionals in the industry. They were not afraid to critique me on things I could
improve on, and they gave me the confidence needed to thrive in a fast-paced
environment.

17. How could the field experience be more meaningful?

There could be more down time and time to ask questions. I understand the fast-
paced environment, but I think more reflection would have been beneficial.

18. What could have been given more emphasis regarding this internship during
your orientation on campus and/or the Agency to which you interned?
There could have and should have been more of an emphasis on the Gameday
operations. I would have liked to know a little more about what the person in charge of
that would do to get a better understanding.

19. What additional background or classroom experience would have been

helpful prior to your internship?
I would have liked to have taken a class on coaching before going into this, but
at the same time, I felt like I gained as much as knowledge as the class would have
taught me.
20. What suggestions or recommendations can you offer for improvement of
the overall internship experience with this agency?

I wish there was a little more time to shadow one individual for periods of time,
meaning to just be with them for an extended part of the day and get a better feel of what
exactly their job is within the agency.

21. In what ways do you feel that this evaluation procedure could be
improved?
I think instead of doing Bi-Monthly evaluations, maybe make them monthly
instead. By making them monthly, I think the supervisor has a better idea of what to
evaluate instead of it being every other week. I think that this would allow the evaluations
to be a little more meaningful and detailed.

Intern Signature Matthew C. Murphy Date 12/15/2021