“At my first University of Oregon football game, I saw a girl on the field running all these promotions and I thought, ‘I'm going to do that. I don't know how, but I'm going to be her,"" said Alessandra Rodriguez. “It was my ultimate goal."

Rodriguez knew she had come to the right place.

Now, two years later, Rodriguez has achieved her goal and more. As a junior business administration major with a concentration in marketing, she credits her work ethic and ability to easily form relationships with people for making her goals and dreams a reality.

“I'm kind of a grinder," she said. “I'm the type of person who genuinely enjoys working. I have about five jobs and internships right now and I love every one of them."

Rodriguez's willingness to put in the work and take on jobs that others may not want to do has proved invaluable in her current role as a fan experience and marketing intern with Oregon Athletics. Her responsibilities include helping run promotions at football games and planning the game day experience for fans at all women's basketball games during the 2017-18 season.

“Seeing a production and knowing that I helped put it together is so rewarding," she said. “We plan out every single second of every single game. I've learned so much."

She's most proud of her work when watching an event that she's poured so much effort into come to life—and the impact that it can have on others.

“I find joy in knowing that I'll be at every football game, on the field, helping to make an amazing experience happen for more than 50,000 people."

Beyond the courts and fields, Rodriguez is serving as the vice president for career development on the executive board of the Warsaw Sports Business Club, a leadership role she hopes to continue in the future.

“The marketing internship and the executive board really keep me busy," she said. “I get to interact with so many different kinds of people, and knowing that I'm helping more than 300 undergrads have the opportunity to land a cool internship makes me happy."

Rodriguez is also a student worker at the Lundquist College of Business. Additionally, she works special events at Matthew Knight Arena and drives for the university's Designated Driver Shuttle.

In 2016 Rodriguez served as the executive director for the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center's annual Hoopfest—a youth basketball event held at Matt Knight Arena—which she described as an incredible experience.

“That was when I realized that the Warsaw Sports Business Club offered me the exact opportunities that I have dreamed of, but never knew were actually feasible," she said. Finding the club early freshman year was one of the best things that has happened to her, she added.

This past summer Rodriguez's hustle earned her an internship in the special events department of the Portland Timbers.

“The Timbers are a great company; I really loved the culture there," she said. “They trusted me with so much responsibility; it really reassured me that this is what I want to do."

She's looking to continue this experience in a similar role with an organization a little closer to home this summer.

No matter where she lands, Rodriguez will find joy in continuing to work hard in an environment she loves.

She said, “I'm so excited to keep doing what I'm doing."

—Laura Condella, MBA candidate