From Waukee to Kinnick: An Alum’s Path in Sports Marketing

Brooke Thompson is only in her second year of college, but she’s already seeing how her experiences at Waukee Community School District prepared her for the opportunities she has today.

As a marketing intern with the University of Iowa Athletics Department, Brooke helps with game-day operations for all sports, from soccer to volleyball to field hockey. The biggest events are football games at Kinnick Stadium, where she works in the end zone on activities such as Military Hero of the Game and student contests during timeouts.

“Pretty much anything you see happening on the video board during the game — I help with that,” she says.

Brooke describes the atmosphere at those events as “insane.”

“Watching Iowa football at Kinnick Stadium, there’s no right way to describe it,” she explains. “When we do activities on the field, we have an automatic way of seeing how our work affects people because you can hear it in the crowd. It is gratifying.”

Building Experience at Waukee

Brooke says her high school experiences gave her the confidence to apply for the internship. She began exploring marketing early on, taking an Intro to Marketing class, then building on that experience through the APEX Finance, Banking, and Investments course during her junior year.

She also gained business experience through an internship at Wellabe, a local insurance company, before applying to the District’s School-to-Work Internship program.

Open to seniors at both high schools, the School-to-Work program offers local internships in fields such as health care, engineering and event planning. Students take a career preparation course during the first term, then complete an internship from October through May.

Brooke was placed as a marketing intern with the Iowa Wolves, where she helped with game-day promotional planning, supported sponsorships, and collaborated on community outreach events.

She says that experience prepared her for her current work with Iowa Athletics.

“I wouldn’t be doing this today without that internship,” Brooke says. “It prepared me for early call times and long days when we had a game. More than that, I learned how to interact with people older than me and how to dress professionally.”

From the Iowa Wolves to Iowa Athletics

At the end of the internship, her School-to-Work instructor, Tim Murphy, met with Brooke and her supervisor at the Wolves for a final evaluation. They encouraged her to carry that momentum into college and look for marketing opportunities, especially in athletics.

A month later, Brooke applied for the Iowa marketing internship. She got the job as she began her first year as a student year at the university.

One lesson Brooke carried with her was to say “yes” to opportunities and remember that internships can include tasks that aren’t especially exciting.

“Our teachers told us that as an intern, you might be asked to do tasks that are manual and aren’t the most glamorous. But be grateful that you’re there and know there’s a reason why you’re doing it. That’s one of the things I took away: just to be positive.”

At Iowa, interns do much of the hands-on setup while full-time staff focus on communication, outreach, and social media. Brooke says the work is rewarding, whether she’s managing posters at marketing tables in Carver-Hawkeye Arena or creating an emoji puzzle for a student contest at a volleyball game.

Her willingness to say yes led to another opportunity this fall. Through her sports business fraternity, Brooke heard about a chance to help with the Caitlin Clark Nike shoe release event. She applied and was selected as a brand ambassador with Position Sports, the Los Angeles-based company hired to manage the event.

The release was celebrated with a three-day block party in Iowa City. Brooke helped coordinate details and supported events at the Pentacrest, including court operations for an appearance by Iowa Women’s Basketball and an intramural three-point shootout. That same weekend, she also worked an Iowa football game that hosted ESPN’s College GameDay.

“It was probably the busiest weekend I’ve ever had,” Brooke says.

A Foundation for Success

Brooke credits her internships, APEX classes and overall experience at Waukee with helping her succeed. She says the District prepares students for what comes next.

“In the classes I’ve taken at Iowa, I see a difference between students from Waukee and Northwest and students from other schools — how they are academically, but also how they interact with their professor and the questions they ask,” she explains. “Also, I’m able to say I had two internships while I was in high school, and no one else can say that.”

“There’s nothing like Waukee,” Brooke continues. “It’s the teachers and administrators — I wouldn’t be anywhere without them. The people there are so good at what they do. I’m just very grateful to have gone to Waukee.”