Teen Internship Program Business Spotlight: Fleet Feet Sports
Meet Shawn Marlovits, owner of Fleet Feet Sports in Hoboken. Shawn has shown his unwavering dedication to TRUE Mentors and its Teen Internship Program. Since the spring of 2014, he’s provided four Hoboken students an internship within his athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories store.By assigning marketing and business-focused projects, Shawn has witnessed each intern advance in terms of professionalism, business knowledge, and confidence. His last intern came onboard while the company was revamping its website. Shawn tasked the intern with updating the data from Fleet Feet’s old website, categorizing it, and integrating it into the new website, ensuring accuracy of brand and product names, while determining if each product was the most current version available. The intern was challenged with managing a large amount of data and staying organized using an Excel spreadsheet. During the first few weeks of the internship, Shawn witnessed the intern's quiet demeanor. The intern was unsure of his ability to accomplish tasks, but, by the end of the internship, his confidence grew, and he successfully completed the project. Other projects Shawn has assigned have centered around internal process improvements and customer database management.
Shawn is extremely impressed by the level of sophistication and professionalism the interns exude, especially as they progress in the internship. They shake his hand to greet him, never fail to communicate ahead of time if a scheduling conflict arises, and seem appreciative of the internship opportunity. One of Fleet Feet’s hard-working interns demonstrated enthusiasm when eagerly updating the display windows any chance she could. She’d even bring her friends by the next day to show off her diligent efforts. Shawn recognized her dedication and gladly offered her a job, following the completion of her internship.
“It’s an awesome program, especially for local-minded businesses,” Shawn said. “It’s really not a huge commitment. I think the kids greatly benefit, and we do too. For example, we asked an intern to create something simple to help us with some organizational processes. The intern went above and beyond to deliver a poster that we still use today.”
If you know of a business that might want to participate in the Teen Internship Program, please email teens@truementors.org or call 201-540-8783 for more information.
