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By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)

Henley Beisert has always loved sports. In her youth, the Texas native played volleyball and basketball, and her family had season tickets to the Astros and Texans. In fact, she spent many birthdays tailgating for her favorite football team.

This love of sports led Beisert to apply to CU ��«����Ƶ as an integrated physiology major, so she could pursue a career in physical therapy—but midway through her first semester, she switched to strategic communication to study public relations. When she graduates this December, she’ll be recognized as CMCI’s Outstanding Graduate.

“I got the news when I was on my way to Texas for the Buffs game,” she said. “As soon as I got off the plane, I called my family, I called my boyfriend, I told my best friend. I was so excited.”

Beisert wasn’t flying to Lubbock just as a Buffs fan—since her first year, she has been a video assistant with the football team. In this role, she films the games for the football, soccer and lacrosse teams while creating other video content, as well. 

“I literally love my job with the football team. I’m going to be so sad to leave it because it’s been one of the most fun experiences,” she said.

’Natural leadership’

Her supervisor, Jake Drag, called Beisert “an invaluable asset to our video team” who has developed into a reliable mentor for newcomers. The work she does behind the camera, he said, creates the tape that athletes study to improve their performances on the field. 

“Her natural leadership qualities and dependability have helped her thrive in being the captain of our student crew,” he said.

Since she works so closely with the players, especially on the football team, she’s developed relationships with some of them, which helped her land a new position as an ambassador for the Colorado NIL Store. The store helps student-athletes earn money through their name, image and likeness; in that role, “it’s been so fun to dabble a little more in content creation and graphic design,” she said. “It’s been a great opportunity to work with a team and the main campus to meet more people and grow my network.”

Not surprisingly, her love of sports also inspired Beisert to add a sports media minor and critical sport studies certificate to her degree plan. She said using sports as a lens has changed the way she’s thought about everything from history to PR.

“Having taken at least 10 classes covering more critical aspects of sports has been really enlightening,” she said. “I can watch sports now and see the commodification of athletes. It’s been fun to have that different perspective open up, aside from just rooting for your favorite team.”

Internships aplenty

But Beisert is more than just a sports fan, or a fan of sports communication. She’s a big fan of internships—and that’s her No. 1 piece of advice for new students.

“Internships may seem like a lot, and feel stressful at times, but they’re invaluable because you grow your network and gain experience,” she said. “And it’s fun to try so many different things.”

While at CU, she has been a communications and public relations intern for companies like Sherpani, Cig Public Relations, Prim and Company, Turner and, of course, the NIL Store. She said these experiences exposed her to the array of opportunities public relations professionals can play in the real world, but were above all amazing ways to make connections.

“I’m still in touch with a lot of people from my internships, and that’s so important, because you never know who might help you in the future,” she said.

One person who was extremely helpful to Beisert was Erin Willis, an associate professor of strategic communication who ran the Bateman Case Study Capstone last year. Knowing that she’d graduate a semester early, Beisert chose to complete the course during her junior year, and it proved to be an unforgettable experience.

Her team was tasked with creating and executing a campaign for Culturs magazine. Together, they planned events like a Panhellenic mixer that celebrated cultural diversity and collaborated with the ��«����Ƶ chapter of PRSSA to host a seminar series. Their team was ultimately recognized with an honorable mention at the national competition.

“I learned a lot more about PR through this capstone because I was actually doing it,” she said. “And Professor Willis was so helpful. Connecting with some professors can be hard in college, but the ones in CMCI have been so welcoming and want you to succeed in the real world.”