Persistence has paid off for Wichita State sport management senior Thomas “Tommy” Rudawsky, who spent July working in an internship with the Minnesota Vikings.

Rudawsky spent his days working with big-time athletes handling player, coach and staff operations. His job was to make everything run smoothly, from managing autograph sessions to players' meals.

“I've always loved football, and getting to work at the highest level with all these big-time athletes is amazing,” said Rudawsky. “Having something like this on my resume will be huge.”

Rudawsky's involvement at WSU has helped prepare him for such a demanding position. He is a member of the Student Ambassadors Society (SAS) and served as manager for the Shocker men's basketball team for two years. Rudawsky sees the benefit in being part of such a successful operation. His experience making meaningful connections with others through SAS and working with other athletes made him a good candidate for the Vikings internship, but getting an internship with an NFL team was not easy.

Rudawsky spent two years on LinkedIn reaching out to professionals and pursuing multiple internship leads before he was ultimately connected with his internship. However, his work did not end there.

The first year Rudawsky applied to intern with the Vikings he wasn't accepted, but he didn't let rejection stop him.

“Getting internships is all about persistence,” said Rudawsky. “Rejection is just a part of life.  You can't let that get to you. You have to keep going and don't lose sight of your goals.”

His hard work eventually paid off. While in Minnesota, Rudawsky was offered a position with the University of Arkansas. He will remain in Arkansas for the fall and return to WSU in the spring.

Rudawsky ultimately wants to become an NFL general manager, but he recognizes such a career path can be a lengthy process. There are only 32 possible job openings in the world.

“Life is unpredictable,” said Rudawsky. “It's one step at a time and we'll see what happens.”

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