When senior Mike Adams heard that Mitchell College would be adding Esports to its athletics lineup, he was excited. A gaming spectator in the past, he joined the team, which was ready for play in Spring 2021. Through that experience, he decided he was curious about how things worked behind the scenes.

“Playing the game was a lot of fun, but it also pushed me to learn about the operations process on the back end.”

Mike took the initiative and messaged the director of TeamMETA (Maryland Esports Training Academy) – the Esports management and development organization that organizes and supports Esports teams, including Mitchell College’s – to ask about internship opportunities.

He landed one for the summer.

Working 100% online, Mike assists with managing tournaments and organizing teams.

“We log information about the teams and the games onto the website and manage the brackets, making sure there are no issues and everyone is where they need to be.”

Using many of the skills he has learned at Mitchell, including technology, problem solving and adaptability, he was challenged early on in his internship when he was added to the social media team.

“I’m not an artist. I tried to contribute, but my work isn’t up to snuff in that area. I was honest with my supervisor about my skills and got moved to another area. Speaking up was a big thing for me, but it worked out well.”

When he first started at Mitchell in the Leadership and Business Management core studying communication, Mike was interested in pursuing a career in writing. While he still has an interest in it – perhaps even script writing – his plans have shifted.

“Making money in an area you enjoy is important to me. I would like to keep working with META when I graduate, and if that doesn’t work out, I’d like to pursue marketing in the gaming space.”

For now, Mike is focused on his favorite part of his internship.

“I love learning about everything. It’s exciting for me to gain more skills.”