Business Matters

Jeff Lulay arrived at the College of Business four years ago with a mission to make the most out of his college experience and take advantage of opportunities to get work experience and build his resume.

Lulay’s efforts paid off last summer with an internship with Nike Football, where his talents and work ethic led to the offer of a full-time job as a brand marketing specialist when he graduates with a marketing degree in June.

“My main job is the brand,” Lulay said, “how our brand is represented on players on the field.”

Lulay was one of 48,000 applicants for the handful of Nike Football internships last summer, and he arrived with a wealth of sports and apparel expertise to offer, though. He was a football player, baseball player and wrestler at Wilsonville High School, and at Oregon State, he’s interned with the athletic department – he’s the “mic guy” who fires up the football crowd at Reser Stadium – and served as president of the Beaver Dam, the student fan organization. He’s also done marketing for the prestigious 16-team Les Schwab Tires Invitational high school basketball tournament in Hillsboro.

As Beaver Dam president, Lulay has cultivated relationships with basketball coach Wayne Tinkle and football coach Gary Andersen. His people skills with high-profile figures came in handy during the two-month Nike Football internship, where he interacted with NFL stars such as Richard Sherman, Luke Kuechly, and Ndamukong Suh.

“I knew I couldn’t ask for photographs or autographs,” Lulay said. “I love the NFL, but I knew I had to keep my composure.

“I excelled at everything they gave me,” he said. “I’m good with events and love sports, so it was easy to be passionate about what I was doing.”

Lulay’s primary internship responsibility was being in charge of the equipment room at the Top 150, a July camp at the Nike campus in Beaverton for the best high school seniors-to-be in the country. Lulay oversaw more than $1 million worth of football gear.

Lulay was also on one of 24 eight-person intern teams who competed in a challenge to revamp Nike’s onboarding procedures. His team took the creative approach of presenting its suggestions in the form of a SportsCenter segment.

“When we were done, the judges applauded,” said Lulay, whose team won the competition and earned the right to present to present to Nike CEO Mark Parker.

Lulay urges his fellow business students, especially the younger ones, to start using the Career Success Center early, especially for help with resume writing and lining up internships.

“I tell freshmen, use what the College of Business has to offer,” he said. “The college brings all these things to the table. Take advantage of them. A degree by itself isn’t enough. You need to get that work experience to set yourself apart.”