Students in the college’s Department of Sport Management will have the chance to work exclusively with Dr. Seong-ik Baek, a supervisor in the Yongpyong Resort’s Snowboard School.
Baek said this is the first collaboration of its kind between Yongpyong Resort and an American university.
“I have two favorite American movies: Jerry Maguire and We Are Marshall. When I found out my colleague Dr. Wanyong Choi was hired as a sport management professor at Marshall, I contacted him right away to discuss how we could work together,” Baek said. “This is the only university in the U.S. we have partnered with and we hope to expand the opportunities to exercise science and physical therapy students on Marshall’s campus in the future.”
Choi, an assistant professor and director of the department’s Sport Data Analysis Center, said these students will have a totally different internship experience compared to other university students.
“Over half of my students have admitted to having no experience interacting with different cultures outside of the U.S.,” Choi said. “These internship opportunities align perfectly with our university’s mission to increase global connections.”
Dr. Michael Prewitt, dean of the College of Health Professions, said their sport management students would serve as interns for the snowboarding and skiing Olympic events held at YongPyong Resort.
“Korea is known for hosting four mega-sporting events such as the World Cup, International Track and Field and the Summer Olympics,” Prewitt said. “Having insight into the cultural differences within the world of sport management is going to open so many doors for them. With Dr. Baek’s leadership and expertise, we have no doubt that our students will have meaningful experiences that will shape their careers forever.”
Students will earn six college credit hours with this internship opportunity. Interested candidates can learn more by contacting Dr. Jennifer Mak, professor of sport management, at mak@marshall.edu or Choi at choiw@marshall.edu.
The Department of Sport Management, which is housed in the School of Kinesiology, is planning an informational session for the spring semester, with details to be determined.
For information on other internship opportunities in the College of Health Professions, visit www.marshall.edu/cohp online.
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Photo: (Left to right) Dr. Michael Prewitt and Dr. Seong-ik Baek signed a formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Jan. 10, 2017 to provide internship opportunities to Marshall University students in the sport management program at YongPyong Resort – a host venue for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Korea.