Under the guidance of Elon alumna Serena Archer ’19, the sport management major completed a 10-week internship program in her hometown at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Brynja Burton ’25 is eager to explore the intersection of sports and digital media, and this summer she did so interning for one of college athletics’ most visible, and captivating, brands.
Beginning in June, the sport management major spent 10 weeks working as a creative content and social media management intern for the University of Colorado Athletic Department. During the internship, the Boulder, Colorado, native immersed herself in the Power Four program’s off-season activities, supporting the digital team’s efforts to collect photography, edit video, create graphics and execute social campaigns.
Melding her interest in athletics and social media, while interning close to home, was an opportunity Burton couldn’t pass up.
“During this time in my life where I have the ability to explore all parts of the sports industry, my priorities are to become well-rounded skill-wise, well-versed in what each department does and how they work together, and figure out what would be the best fit for me as a full-time career,” the Communications Fellow said.
In recent years, Colorado (CU) has drawn significant media attention due to high-profile hires and conference realignment. Two years ago, the university hired Deion Sanders to lead its dormant football program, a move that generated scrutiny, but also immense brand awareness. Additionally, Colorado jumpstarted conference shuffling with its shift back to the Big 12 Conference. All the while, the university has built a strong reputation in creative circles for its innovative and eye-catching work.
As a member of the digital media department, Burton participated in creative brainstorming sessions, which included crafting and creating Tik Tok concepts with CU athletes, assisting photoshoot set-ups, and creating GIFs, graphics and informational videos.
While Burton might be a Boulder local, she ultimately landed the internship position through cold email messages to CU employees, which eventually led her to an Elon connection.
One of her messages landed with Lindsay Lew, CU’s assistant athletic director for digital and database marketing, who in turn connected Burton with Serena Archer ’19, director of digital content. In her role, Archer also oversees CU’s creative interns.
Since joining Colorado in 2021, the Elon graduate has been instrumental in the exponential growth of the athletic department’s creative intern program, which hosts 40 undergraduate interns across photo, video, graphics and social. This group handles in-venue videoboard shows, social content for all 16 of the university’s sports across six platforms, features that have been aired on ESPN, and graphics and photos used by major networks across the country.
“Our interns are certainly the backbone of our entire content production process,” Archer said.
Thanks to the strong work of CU’s full-time staff and a growing army of talented interns, people have started paying close attention to Colorado. In the past two years, CU has gained more than 2.5 million followers across its social accounts.
During their initial conversations, Archer explained the program to Burton and what roles the Elon student could support. Eventually Archer extended an internship offer and was pivotal in helping Burton get accommodated, including meeting prior to Burton’s start date. They also discussed the resources Archer found valuable as a student in the School of Communications, including the Women Influencers in Sport (WINS) program, which aims to help women excel in the sport industry.
Throughout the internship, Archer served as Burton’s adviser and go-to contact for any questions, which included providing instructions on how to use high-tech equipment on site.
“Serena supported me in all endeavors and allowed me to focus on whichever sectors of the digital department I wanted to explore more,” Burton said.
Archer commended Burton on being proactive during her internship, asking detailed, job-specific questions, collaborating with other interns, and never hesitating to get her hands dirty during projects.
“She was the epitome of a team player,” Archer said. “Working with Brynja this summer made me proud to be an Elon alum.”
As her skillset evolved during her internship experience, Burton said she had the opportunity to lead of her own project: proposing a new official hashtag for the CU athletic programs. After much research, Burton concluded that altering the hashtag slightly – moving from “#GoBuffs” to “#SkoBuffs” – could significantly increase the traction on CU’s athletic social media accounts. To support the hashtag transition, Burton crafted a list of goals, a plan of action, teaser videos, graphics, announcement posts, a schedule, and planned a scavenger hunt to get local fans involved.
Burton’s creativity and level of effort stood out to Archer.
“Brynja was incredibly passionate about the work we were doing, went above and beyond to research innovative social ideas and strategies and, most importantly, showed up to the office every day with an incredibly positive attitude,” Archer said. “Brynja’s ideas and brainstorming skills rivaled some of our best full-time staff and we are already implementing several of her social plans.”
With a few weeks to process her internship experience, Burton said she cherished her time working at CU, an opportunity that would not have been possible without Archer’s support.
“This summer I got to practice adapting to challenges and changes, learned to be more open-minded when coming into a new environment, improved my Adobe Suite skills – which is crucial for creative professions – and worked in the ever-changing collegiate landscape,” Burton said. “It was a summer I won’t forget.”