The University of South Carolina has partnered with Monumental Sports & Entertainment to establish a new internship program for women students majoring in sport and entertainment management.
The partnership will provide four paid internships per year to students at the university. The program will kick off in the summer of 2019 and then move to a fall and spring rotation with two available internships each semester. The participating women will gain hands-on-experience working with industry leaders and explore diverse career options in professional sport and entertainment management.
Susan O’Malley, senior instructor at the University of South Carolina and former president of the Washington Wizards and Washington Sports and Entertainment, was instrumental in developing the new partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment. She was the first woman president of a professional sports franchise and one of the first women in a major front-office position in major league sports. She has been a South Carolina faculty member since 2016 and has been a dedicated advocate for diversity in leadership.
“I feel that’s part of my role,” O’Malley says. “In what remains a male-dominated field, when all things are equal, many organizations may be more likely to hire John over Jane. I want to help young women break through those barriers.”
O’Malley holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and a law degree from Georgetown University.