Explorers are learning outside of the classroom in rewarding internships. Here, a School of Business student shares what it’s like working in a role that’s a step toward a future career. 

Hammed Fofana, ’25
Finance and Business Systems & Analytics major 
Internship: Marketing intern with La Salle Athletics

What interested you in the internship?: My involvement in athletics, particularly basketball, piqued my interest in this position. I’ve always been curious about the game day process in basketball, so when the opportunity to be involved arose, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. Despite being a finance and business systems and analytics major, I knew that an experience in marketing would be important to acquire in terms of developing my skills in communication, attention to detail, and adaptability. 

Primary duties: On game day, I concentrate on sound and music selection, communicating with Dan Lobacz, associate athletic director for external relations, mostly through headset throughout the game, and complying to our gameday script for postgame, media timeouts, and halftimes. 

Favorite part: My favorite aspect of the music experience is engaging with the audience because, as a student, I understand what my peers listen to and how to engage them through the momentum of the game. I love seeing the Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center packed, especially on big game days when the atmosphere in the arena is absolutely electric. 

Biggest challenge: The most difficult challenge is keeping up with the game’s pace and knowing what sounds to play, whether it is an instrumental or music. But the more games I host, the more at ease I become. 

Takeaways: This job has taught me to be present in the moment and pay attention throughout the game because you never know when an unexpected timeout will occur. The ultimate goal is to never have any dead air once the clocks stop.