Senior Lands Dream Internship with Detroit Tigers

Thinking big helped Darius Darling, who will be a May 2014 graduate with a degree in business administration-management, land a position as a promotions intern with the Detroit Tigers.

In a human resources class taught by Dr. Jeff Walls, Darling was given an assignment to interview someone in a human resources department. When he couldn’t find one in Fort Wayne that really interested him, Walls advised him to “go big or go home.”

“I took it as go home to go big, and that’s how I landed my internship with the Detroit Tigers,” Darling said. “I interviewed them and was in turn encouraged to apply for an internship and next thing I knew, I was reporting for my interview and a few days after, I began working as the promotions intern for the Detroit Tigers specifically coordinating the events, promotion and database for the Detroit Tigers Kids Club while working on in-game promotions.”

While awaiting the internship interview, Darling took a leap of faith and decided to complete his final semester online so that he could move home to Detroit and be ready to take the job.

“I have been involved in the planning of many different events and the execution of others. My job is focused on the Detroit Tigers Kids Club, which is a revenue generator for the team bringing in approximately $170,000 in membership funds. During this entire process, I have been under the leadership of two project directors, my department head, and the director of marketing. I have been responsible for presenting all information as it relates to the Detroit Tigers Kids Club.”

The internship began in January continues through October, including the postseason if the Tigers make it into the playoffs.

“Balancing time and all of my business courses have been beneficial to my continued growth and road to success while serving as an intern with the Detroit Tigers,” he said.