A group of students from the University of Hawai’i participated in and worked with a world-famous Esports organization, Gen.G, for a summer practicum.
Twelve students traveled to Gangnam, South Korea, where they had the opportunity to dive into the realm of Esports firsthand to learn about business, education, and marketing. During the three-week program, these students experienced mentorship and collaboration with Gen.G industry experts. The students worked on a variety of projects, including enhancing global fan engagement for teams and players through content creation, strategy analysis, data collection, and marketing research, as well as creating advertising materials alongside the Gen.G marketing team.
Student intern Zelda Cole.
“I want to gain more real-world experience working for an Esports organization,” shared Zelda Cole, before the start of the internship. This program has helped students understand the gaming industry from an international perspective, something that is especially valuable to students in Hawai’i, where there are few major Esports opportunities in comparison to the mainland. “I joined the information meeting to learn more about the opportunity, without any expectations to do it. But I got excited about it and decided to apply and here we are.” Zelda is a Computer Science graduate student at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and creates content and graphics for UH Esports. Professionally, she was especially excited to develop her relationships with other students and “being able to work in an environment where everything is centered around gaming, players, and education.”
The students enjoyed various Korean cultural activities outside of work, getting to immerse themselves in Korean traditions and daily life.
Alie Wolpo, a Creative Media major from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, was also part of this year’s intern cohort. “I’m hoping to learn more about the realities of worklife in Korea and if it’s a good fit for me,” they said. Alie is the Arena Operations manager of UH Esports and is hoping to find a career in Esports in Asia. The hands-on experience provided by the internship will be a valuable asset to both students who want to explore their career options, and those who want to dive right into their targeted career field. “For anyone interested in esports, Asian culture and media, or even a student looking for something new so that they can figure out what they want to do in the future, this is the perfect program.”
This year’s cohort of student interns.
Gage Minamoto, who worked in content and marketing during this year’s internship, shared his daily life at Gen.G and reflections on the experience. View their Instagram reel on @uhesports here.
Gage reflects: “My favorite parts of the entire trip were definitely the cultural experiences related to esports and South Korea itself. I love to immerse myself in Asian culture and explore other countries drastically different from the West. I enjoy seeing new perspectives, getting cultural shocks, and exposing myself to new experiences.” Students enjoyed the cultural immersion experience presented by the internship, including the food, work, and lifestyle differences from Hawaii.
The intern cohort wears matching Gen.G jerseys in LoL Park in Seoul, South Korea.
Gage cites his biggest takeaways from the internship to be the cultural acceptance and celebration of Esports in Korea, Korea’s support of physical social spaces and activities like pop-ups, cafes, and group dining, how a successful Esports organization continues to prosper, and the benefits of having a mix of talent and passion in the workplace. He hopes to put his learnings towards the growth of UH Esports.
Follow UH Esports on Instagram at @uhesports and on X at @UHEsport for more updates.
ACM System is a major supporter of UH Esports.
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