Pure thrill and excitement fills every inch of my body as we pull up to the headquarters of the one the only, Nike. Giant banners hang behind the water fountains as if guarding the entrance. A small group of us Heritage kids stick together, there for a presentation. But it’s more than that. It’s an opportunity.
Our Heritage group, small and determined, marches in. Memorable statues, shoes, and clothing sit in perfect display. It would take hours to explain all the meaning behind all this stuff. 80 other students, full of ambition, hustle around to look at everything in this museum. Some huddle around the designers and marketers, all trying to stand out.
The presentation covered the upcoming Nike Creative Workshop and what it’s like at Nike. Every type of person that has input on a single shoe, designers, specialists on fabrics, colors, different types of plastics was present. It gave us a glimpse on what it takes to be a Nike employee. All of us students participated in a designing contest. We had fifteen minutes to design a shoe and sketch it. The grand prize: an internship at Nike.
Chris Lindauer, the president sports career consultant, and Anthony Roberts, the leader of Uneek Projects, gave me a full pass to go for the day free of charge on the condition that I help make a video and take pictures. Myself, and a couple other people immediately set up cameras on arrival, just like we promised. I run around taking pictures, helping position the camera, all while trying to soak up everything. I wished I had more time draw a shoe.
A couple of weeks have passed from that day at Nike. Although my shoe sketch didn’t win, my effort and hard work did not go unnoticed. I got an email telling me I was one of the winners for an internship at Nike. I’ll be working with employees of Nike.
Before that day at Nike, if someone asked me what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I would have given you a million different answers. That day really gave me an insight on my future; where I want to be and how I can to get there. I learned that there’s more to design then a drawing or a sculpture. Design goes to the smallest detail. From fabrics, to colors, all the way to the type of rubber used in a show. Everything is intentional, and done with a lot of thought.
The people at Nike showed how much passion they had for what they do, how they show up at work 6:30am on the dot with a smile on their face, anxious to start. That’s where I want to be. I’m anxious to start.