Former track athlete seized networking opportunities as NCAA intern

Jarett Gerald, now at Duke, pursued his dream of working in athletics administration

The impact the NCAA Postgraduate Internship Program had on Jarett Gerald, associate director of administrative operations at Duke, is summed up in one word: people. 

People he knew before the internship encouraged him to apply. Many of them, including some athletics directors, were alums of the program. People he met during the internship greatly expanded his professional network. Now, when people see he's an alum of the program, they're more apt to connect. 

Gerald, who worked in Division III governance and enforcement as a 2020-21 NCAA postgraduate intern, cites his experience at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention to show the night-and-day difference the program made to his network. 

"Prior to working at the NCAA, I went to NACDA one time, and I didn't know anybody — like I knew no people," he said. "Then I go and I work in the NCAA in this internship program for a year. The very next year, I go to NACDA, and you would have thought I had been working in collegiate athletics for 50 years, all the people that I knew or was connected to just from my time working at the NCAA."

How did his one-year internship at the NCAA have this type of impact? 

"You're serving (as a liaison) on committees, so you meet people that way. People are coming to the national office, so you meet people that way," Gerald said. "You're doing so many different things to where your network is growing so vastly. That was the part that was so eye- opening to me and super helpful." 

Gerald said he landed his role at Duke in part thanks to connections made through the internship program, including Jocelyn Gates, also an alum of the program. Gates started her administrative career in the same position as Gerald at Duke before advancing to more senior positions at South Florida, Boston College and Ohio State. She's now a vice president at TurnkeyZRG, a prominent hiring firm.  

Duke Director of Athletics Nina King also is an alum of the NCAA internship program. 

"I think those commonalities are the things that are super helpful and super important," Gerald said. "Maybe our internship departments weren't the same, but Nina and I have shared stories about her time in the program and how it's different with my time. I think that just gives you some credibility and just helps you build rapport."

A former track and field student-athlete at South Carolina, Gerald was not the typical postgraduate intern in that he did not apply right after completing his undergraduate or graduate degree. His journey to the program instead followed a five-year stint serving as the special assistant to the head coach for South Carolina men's basketball. At that point, he was certain he didn't want to chase a coaching career, so he started asking for advice on how to stay in athletics as an administrator. 

Gerald talked to more than a handful of people. To his surprise, they all shared one thing in common. 

"They had all been a part of this postgraduate internship program," Gerald said. "I know not everyone may believe in divine intervention, but to me that was certainly something, if I reach out to seven different people and each one of them had all been a part of this internship program."

That experience was a precursor to the powerful NCAA postgraduate intern community he's come to know. It's why his biggest sales pitch to anyone interested in a career in college athletics is to start with the NCAA Postgraduate Internship Program. 

"The chance to learn and to grow and to meet people are all reasons why people should apply," he said. "Getting back to the people piece, the professional relationships are awesome. Being able to grow your career and all those things are great, but I think the personal relationships have been more valuable to me. I have friends now, people that will be in my wedding, that I've met literally from my time being a part of this program."

The NCAA Postgraduate Internship Program annually provides on-the-job learning experiences at the national office in Indianapolis to college graduates who are passionate in their pursuit of a career in college sports administration. With a focus on ethnic minorities, women and former student-athletes, this yearlong program gives insight to the inner workings of college sports from the national perspective. Interns over the past 25 years have taken their experience and institutional knowledge onto campuses and into the conference offices as full-time administrators. 

Learn more about the Postgraduate Internship Program at its webpage, including how to apply, types of internships available and more.