In this Scholar-Athlete Spotlight, we are featuring Grant Lovette of Florida Tech men's basketball. This summer, the Fort Mill, South Carolina, native is gaining meaningful experience at an internship in his desired field. We caught up with Lovette to learn more about the incredible opportunity.

What company are you interning for this summer? What is your title and role with the company?
"I am interning with Newell Brands at their Atlanta headquarters. I am an IT information delivery intern."

What drew you to this internship? What steps did you have to take to earn your position within the company?
"Coach Murph introduced me to a friend of his Leslie Lillenthal who comes to quite a few Florida Tech basketball games, and I pursued the internship from there. What drew me towards the internship is that the company's summer intern initiative is heavily invested in A.I. growth, so I thought that it would be a great opportunity to get a feel for how companies are transitioning and using A.I. moving forward. Steps I had to take to get it were to apply for the summer program and then interview with a member of the IT information delivery team."

What are some exciting tasks or projects that you have been able to be a part of?
"My summer project is identifying all the data that the company has stored and creating a time efficient and easy to understand way for people outside of the IT team to access and understand the data they need."
 
What is your major at Florida Tech? Why did you choose this direction for your education and is this something you always wanted to pursue?
"My major at Florida Tech is Business Administration. This internship is more IT based, but I get the opportunity to work with some members of the business team. So, being able to get some experience in both fields is valuable. It isn't really something that was on my radar, but I am very grateful that it worked out the way it did, and it would be something that I would pursue down the road."

How has being a scholar-athlete prepared you for the work you are currently doing in your internship? What skills have you taken from your time as a scholar-athlete that help you in your internship?
"I think being a student-athlete has been helpful, being able to manage time during the school year has transferred into this situation, with balancing work and off-season workouts. Another thing that being a student athlete has prepared me for is being able to communicate effectively with coworkers almost like communicating with teammates."

How is your internship preparing you for a career you would like to do after graduation?
"I think that this internship is preparing me for a career later down the road by getting a feel for how offices operate, and what kind of stuff people in this role do day to day."

What advice would you give another scholar-athlete/prospective scholar-athlete who is looking to pursue a similar path?
"Advice that I would give is that if you get an opportunity to get a summer internship then you should take it. It is a great way to feel out a career that you may be interested in. It also is a great learning opportunity and a way for you to get ahead of others in the hiring process when you graduate."