Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

NASCAR Intern Helps Promote Fan Experience, Leads to More Opportunity

Monday, October 24, 2016, By Kathleen Haley
Share
alumniCollege of Visual and Performing Arts
Two people at trophy

Peri Karslioglu with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski in Victory Lane after the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo provided by NASCAR)

Peri Karslioglu ’16 was looking for a senior capstone project when she came across a listing for the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program. She never imagined where it would eventually take her.

Karslioglu, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, was one of 26 students selected nationwide to participate in the summer program and quickly learned all about America’s favorite spectator sport. The opportunity also led more recently to a permanent position with the organization as a marketing coordinator.

“I love how quickly I was immersed into the motorsports industry,” Karslioglu says. “The internship showed me all different parts of the motorsports industry from the engineering of the cars to the NASCAR Production Studios to the ISC Call Center and the Speediatrics Unit at Halifax Health Medical Center.”

Peri Karslioglu ’16

As she initially searched for internships last spring, Karslioglu saw the listing for NASCAR and spotted the posting specifically for the NASCAR Foundation, which offered both marketing and event opportunities.

“I wasn’t sure which area I wanted to focus; therefore I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try both,” says Karslioglu, who graduated in August with degrees in sport management from the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and communication and rhetorical studies from the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The NASCAR Diversity Internship Program is a 10-week, paid internship that brings on multicultural undergraduate and graduate students with high academic standing. Interns assist with projects, network with industry leaders and volunteer throughout the program.

She applied, got an interview and heard back from the organization two days later.

“I had my roommate read the email to make sure it was real. I was very excited when I read the good news,” Karslioglu says.

Karslioglu began the 10-week paid internship in May at the NASCAR Headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. Assigned to the NASCAR Foundation, Karslioglu worked with the marketing team to create content and graphics for social media posts on the foundation’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The program exposes college students to employment opportunities in departments within the sanctioning body or with organizations that NASCAR partners with to enhance the fan experience. Interns get a real look at the business behind the scenes and gain insights into possible careers.

Karslioglu also assisted with the development team on fundraising initiatives, such as the placement of NASCAR pins and bands in Daytona Beach restaurants in exchange for donations.

“I was also in charge of planning and executing a theme night at the Daytona Tortugas, a minor league baseball team, to generate awareness and fundraise for the NASCAR Foundation,” Karslioglu says.

Peri Karslioglu at the NASCAR R&D center in Concord, North Carolina. Photo provided by NASCAR

Along with the foundation activities, Karslioglu made it to the track and some of the sport’s most exciting events.

She attended the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in Charlotte and the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona Beach, where she met NASCAR personalities in the garage, observed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars go through inspection and watched the race right from pit road.

“My favorite part was meeting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski in Victory Lane at the end of the Coke Zero 400,” Karslioglu says. “The opportunity to celebrate with Team Penske was an unforgettable experience.”

Karslioglu enjoyed the opportunity and hoped it would lead to more experiences in the sport—and it did. She was offered, and accepted, a full-time position working with the NASCAR Foundation as a marketing coordinator in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“This internship introduced me to the world of motorsports,” she says.

 

 

  • Author

Kathleen Haley

  • Recent
  • COVID-19 Update: Vaccination | Testing | Important Reminders | Zoom Sessions
    Friday, January 15, 2021, By News Staff
  • Important Update: Spring 2021 Pre-Arrival Testing Requirements (Students from New York State and contiguous states)
    Thursday, January 14, 2021, By News Staff
  • Important Update: Spring 2021 Pre-Arrival Testing and Quarantine Requirements (Students from all states non-contiguous to New York State and international locations)
    Thursday, January 14, 2021, By News Staff
  • Students and Families Invited to Participate in Zoom Sessions to Discuss Return to Campus Planning
    Thursday, January 14, 2021, By News Staff
  • The Role of Digital Forensics and Tracking Down US Capitol Riot Criminals
    Thursday, January 14, 2021, By Daryl Lovell

More In Arts & Culture

College of Visual and Performing Arts Flexes Creative Muscle to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic

“Visual and Performing Arts students wouldn’t have a reason to be here if they couldn’t sing or hold an instrument or act onstage or spend time in the studio.  The arts are a social activity, not something that lends itself…

Special Collections Research Center Receives Grant to Process Forrest J. Ackerman Papers

The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation is providing Syracuse University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) with a $17,000 grant to process the Forrest J. Ackerman Papers. Ackerman was a popular American science fiction author, editor, agent, collector and fan. His…

Architecture Students Help Design Street Renovation Project in China

Since April 2020, a team of students from the School of Architecture have been working on a master plan to transform a street scape in the future city of Xiong’an New Area in China’s Hebei province. After a long delay…

Rolling Appointed to Everson Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees

James Haywood Rolling Jr., a dual professor of arts education and teaching and leadership in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and School of Education, has been appointed to the board of trustees of the Everson Museum of…

Romita Ray’s Research on Tea Leads to Unexpected Connections and Personal Discovery

Associate professor of art history Romita Ray specializes in the art and architecture of the British Empire in India. With assistance from the University’s Proposal Support Services and internal grant funding, Ray is doing research she feels an intimate personal…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.