October 15, 2009
Senior biomechanics student scores dream internship through persistence, innovation
Elizabeth Brock, a senior in kinesiology and health with a specialization in biomechanics, studied the performance of Nike shoes during a unique internship at Nike headquarters last year. |
By
Michelle Rydell
Losing has never been an option for Elizabeth Brock. When the senior Iowa State University student failed to get her dream internship at Nike Inc., she refused to give up. Instead, she moved to Portland, Ore., and knocked on the very doors that were closed to her the year before.
Brock, a senior in kinesiology and health with a specialization in biomechanics at Iowa State University, first attempted to get a summer internship with Oregon-based Nike through traditional means - sending a resume and recommendation letters as well as applying online, hoping to get called back. But when she wasn’t chosen, Brock decided she was going to play by her own rules - and won.
“I knew I wanted to work for Nike, but they didn’t pick me,” Brock said. “So I thought, well, I’ll just go knock on their door.”
It’s not surprising to anyone who knows her that Brock overcame her obstacles. Her persistence may stem from her competitive athletic background, competing in five triathlons by age 21. Clearly, Brock wasn’t about to allow a simple “no” to direct her future.
Brock signed up for the National Student Exchange at Portland State University, although she didn’t explain her intentions for moving to Oregon. After a steady stream of emails with the internship director for more than a year, she eventually scored an interview with the company.
“I think the internship director just realized my determination, and understood that I was going to get an internship there, no matter what,” Brock said.
Because there was no actual position that existed for a year-round intern, Brock worked with the company to establish a seven-month, for-credit internship that ended in July, all while taking a full course load at the university. Though at times the internship lacked structure, Brock used this to her advantage by shadowing researchers whose interests matched her own - specifically, how various running shoes affect human movement.
Brock is now using the data she collected in the research laboratories to develop her senior project in the College of Human Sciences honors program. Brock compared an Adidas shoe that claims to reduce shear forces when the foot strikes the ground, to three of Nike’s running shoes. Brock used Nike’s state-of-the-art motion capture system and force plates to get a 3-D image of the foot’s movements in various athletic shoes. Ultimately, this type of research can be used to produce better products that improve human performance, Brock said.
Paving her own path provided her a rare opportunity to probe the minds of top-notch researchers in the field and gave her insider knowledge of how to break into a competitive corporation like Nike, Brock said. She hopes this understanding will help her carve a future at one of the nation’s leading athletic companies.
“I learned that I really wanted to do biomechanics, and that to work for a corporation like Nike, I would have to go to graduate school,” Brock said. “I also learned that I would need to be persistent. If you want something, you can’t give up on it. You can’t wait for it to come to you; you have to seek it out.”
