PORTLAND, Ore. — Rising senior Miriam Duen will return to the North Carolina Central campus having gained invaluable experience after completing a prolific summer internship with Nike.
 
Duen is midway through her 2 1/2-month human resource and diversity inclusion internship with Nike, a worldwide leader in footwear, apparel and equipment. Nike is the official apparel partner of NCCU Athletics.

"It makes me feel very humbled and honored to just be part of Nike because their company is so big," said Duen.
 
The summer internship is broken down into four equal components for Duen: (1) a mentor project where she will collect and tell 10 employee stories on how that have been involved in mentoring and produce tactical recommendations for engaging more Nike employees in mentoring youth; (2) an employee network mentoring program to aid the development of an employee-to-employee mentoring program; (3) an intern combined project by successfully completing a project with fellow interns; and (4) work on other projects and intern experiences.
 
Duen has been added to another team project with three other interns where they are working closely with Jordan Brand to help create and develop a mentor program for their WINGS scholarship program to be used in the upcoming years. 
 
"It means a lot for the athletics department and our program to have Miriam participate in the Nike internship program," said NCCU head softball coach Vashion Johnson. "We are trying to recruit young ladies that have aspirations of becoming CEOs and leaders in different industries of their choosing. Miriam goes out there and gets this internship that I can now show other potential student-athletes that are interested in our program that it is attainable, and that you're not just here to play softball, but to also graduate on time, make high GPAs and to successfully step out into whatever career path they want."
 
Duen is a criminal justice major at NCCU and a three-year letter winner on the Lady Eagles' softball team. She is moving up to President of the NCCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in 2018-19 and has been serving as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) SAAC President. Duen, who is pursuing a minor in Spanish, plans to become a criminal investigative detective for the FBI.
 
"I really like working around athletes and in athletics, so interning at Nike this summer will help show me what else I may like to do," said Duen. "I am super excited to learn and see what works and doesn't. By working in HR I'll be doing a lot of problem solving and critical thinking, and that's where I feel it can be relatable to my field. They want the interns to join the Nike team, but I will keep an open mind and see where the experience leads me. One of my close family members told me to do as much as I can so you can find out what you don't like to do and that will help you find what you like."
 
Duen found out about the Nike internship program through NCCU Preparing to Soar Program (PSP) coordinator George Midgett and former teammate and mentor Jenny Tracy, who now works for another major United States-based corporation in Shell. Tracy helped Duen formulate a strong resume for the program and she then applied during her second season at NCCU. During the interview process, it was discovered Duen was only a sophomore and not eligible for the program that is restricted to juniors and seniors. Nike did encourage her to reapply the next year and she did. Duen eagerly awaited a phone call after applying again in December. The NCCU mentor finally got the call and after a series of phone and Skype exchanges and interviews was offered one of the internship positions.
 
"Miriam's leadership qualities are far above the average softball player," said Johnson. "She works hard on the field in practice and she works hard off the field with all the different roles she has on campus. She is a mentor to the younger players. They see the way she carries herself throughout the day."
 
The native of Murrieta, California, has returned to the west coast for the summer, but her time at Nike's main campus is her first visit to Portland, Oregon. Duen is enjoying the area while completing her work assignments, including adventures like whitewater rafting down the Deschutes River, touring downtown Portland, hiking, intramural sports (inner tube water pop, kickball, basketball), Nike Tours (making of current Nike shoes and their archive center where the first Nike shoe was made with a waffle iron), sports watch parties (NBA Finals, World Cup, Tennis Majors), eating lots of great food and attending workout camps. She still expects to attend a soccer game and do a heritage tour in Eugene to learn about the history and legacy of Bill Bowerman and Phil Night, cofounders of Nike. Duen has met athletes like Christian Coleman, a professional track and field sprinter who holds the world indoor record for the 60-meter dash, and Chloe Kim, the youngest Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding, while also seeing people around campus like Russell Wilson and Olympic gold medalist Galen Rupp. Her favorite moments include her whitewater experience, seeing Kevin Hart perform live at the Moda Center and seeing some close friends compete at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene.
 
Duen arrived on May 30 for orientation. She then started her internship that extends until just before she returns to Durham for the fall semester in mid-August. Duen is excited to have her mom visit and continue to enjoy time with her fellow interns.
 
The slap-hitting outfielder has played in 88 games over her first three seasons at NCCU. Duen is a MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team honoree, NCCU Softball Debra Saunders-White Leadership Award winner, NCCU Female Chekeria Reid Sportsmanship Award winner and a former NCCU Student-Athlete of the Month.
 
"Miriam is in line to be one of the future captains of this program," said Johnson. "She understands that we have to function and work as a team. She does a good job at making sure there is no individuality. She is all about cohesiveness, involving everyone in practices and games. She looks for ways to inspire the team, like when she picked the mascot for us this year [Joe the Butternut Rally Squash]. She is always doing things to try and make the team and program better."