Inner Circle Leadership Group Closes Out The Year With Mock Interviews

Inner Circle, the athletic department's student-athlete leadership group which focuses on professional development, held it's eighth and final meeting of the year on Monday, April 12th via Zoom. The final meeting gave Inner Circle members an opportunity to put the skills they learned throughout the year into practice through mock interviews conducted by professionals from the surrounding area. Each member of the group was matched with a professional who currently works in an industry similar to their professional interests and answered 10 common interview questions covering topics like professional strengths and weaknesses, leadership styles, career goals, handling adversity, transferable skills, and core values. Student-athlete members also had time to ask questions to the professional guests to learn more about their career paths and get tips on how to prepare for the job search. 

"Being ten years removed from my time as a student-athlete, it was great to share my professional experiences and provide guidance on how to prepare, execute, and close during an interview," shared Husker Baseball Alum, Tyler Niederklein, who now works for Pacific Life. "I was very impressed with the two athletes I met with. They came prepared with well thought out answers and had great questions for me as well. Their stories of resiliency and success will impress many future employers."

Inner Circle members this year included 47 student-athletes from nearly every Husker team. Track and Field student-athlete, Noah Lukz, has been an Inner Circle member for three years and reflected on his experience in the group. "Inner Circle has helped me learn how to apply the experiences and skills I have utilized as a student-athlete into my post graduate professional career. Hearing from letterwinners, engaging in mock interviews, and attending many other informative meetings has had a big impact on preparedness entering into my first job following graduation" shared Lukz. 

Inner Circle Meeting topics for the 2020-2021 academic year included:

• Leadership Styles, Challenges, and Goal Setting - Tom Lemke (Baseball), Nebraska Life Skills
• Athletic Identity, Career Identity, and Strengths & Weaknesses - Brenden Stai (Football), Huskers Athletic Fund
• Building Your Professional Network - Tierra Williams (Track & Field), Elections Systems and Software
• Preparing for an Interview, Jeff DeVaughn (Football, Maine) and Bri Cassidy (Softball), Nebraska Life Skills
• The Entrepreneur Mindset - Adi Kunalic (Football), Opendorse 
• Professionalism: Communication, Conflict, Clothing, & More - Michelle Japak (Soccer, Jacksonville State), United States Secret Service
• Core Values and Transferrable Skills - Mariah Bullock (Soccer, Stanford), Husker Sport Psychology

"Each year, Inner Circle's curriculum is built around the idea of helping student-athletes be prepared to have a successful transition into whatever career field they desire," said Inner Circle staff advisor, Tom Lemke. "Throughout the year we covered topics that allowed them to look at their current skill sets as student-athletes and how to translate that into the professional world. Each meeting also featured a former student-athlete as a guest speaker to discuss the topic for the night and share their career journey. The final meeting was a chance to put those skills covered in the first seven meetings into practice and to network with a professional in their desired career field."

Inner Circle members are referred by their coaches and athletic department staff members. Applications for Inner Circle membership will open in mid-July for the 2021-2022 academic year. If you are a current student-athlete interested in being a member of Inner Circle, please contact Assistant Director of Life Skills, Tom Lemke.