By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
An ASU student recently had the opportunity of a lifetime, working with members of the team representing the United States at the Paris Olympics and the firms that were licensed as sponsors at the event.
Shekinah Leonce, an ASU senior from Orlando, Fla., explained that she worked in the area of operations for the Olympics as a hostess for the members of Team-USA, thanks to her association with Living Sport International Sport Business Program (ISB) that gives current students and others jobs in the company’s study-abroad programs. ISB provides mentoring for its participants so they may interact in world-class international sports events, such as the Olympics, while providing an employment network that extends far beyond the program.
"It was an opportunity of a lifetime for me to be in Paris and to work with the team members representing our nation as a hostess for Team-USA at the Olympic games in Paris, France," Leonce said by phone. "I worked as a liaison with the Team-USA members and with the many companies that were licensees of luxury products sponsoring it such as Ralph Lauren, Nike and others. It was a dream come true."
Leonce, a biology major, shared that she spent several weeks in the capital of France both before and during the Olympic games.
"As a liaison, before the athletes arrived in Paris for the games, I worked with the companies who were underwriters for the Olympics; and when the team members came to Paris, I took them through each of the company's exhibitions and helped obtain for them the many luxurious products they would be given as Olympic team members by the licensees," she said.
Leonce was excited to be working with the athletes at the Olympics, since her career goal is to earn a doctorate in Physical Therapy and ultimately become an athletic trainer, working with highly skilled individuals and/or teams at the highest levels.
Leonce is grateful to Alabama State University for making possible all of the incredible things that happened for her in Paris, as well as preparing her for a career in sports medicine.
"Alabama State University prepared me for this great experience in Paris at the Olympics and helped me obtain the first-rate education that I am receiving here as a student," Leonce exclaimed. "The faculty members and staff that I have studied under and worked with at ASU have prepared me for whatever I desire to do in my career upon my graduation. I believe that ASU is one of the greatest HBCUs in the nation, and because of its involvement in my education and with me in so many other ways, I will be able to fulfill my career goals in the future. Also, because of the University, I was also able to see such incredible once-in-a-lifetime sights as when I was in Paris and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and saw all of Paris glittering from its vantage point before me."