Behind the Swoosh at Nike HQ

Nike, a Fortune 500 company and giant in the global sportswear market, is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, just 14 miles from the Lewis & Clark campus. It currently employs over 80,000 people worldwide, more than 50 of whom are L&C alumni.

Lewis & Clark’s Career Center, with the help of Jonel Iliscupidez BA ’16, arranged a Career Trek to Nike Headquarters on September 26. Ten students, from first-years to seniors, attended. Many of the students were student-athletes and, coincidentally, rhetoric and media studies majors.

Iliscupidez, a specialist in portfolio management for Nike Direct, was key to making the Career Trek happen. While at Lewis & Clark, he majored in psychology and played football.

“When I’m asked why I wanted to host this event, my mind immediately went to something my childhood hero, Kobe Bryant, once said: ‘When you get older, you start to understand that really it’s about the next generation.’ So for me, this was a chance to try to impact others in a positive way … to be a leader, give back, and hopefully inspire confidence and empower someone to pursue their dream.”

The four-hour Career Trek included a walking tour of Nike’s campus, a panel discussion with Iliscupidez and seven other L&C alumni, and a networking lunch. Alumni highlighted their professional journeys, their day-to-day work, the company culture, and how they’ve used their L&C experience on the job. Panelists also provided tips about how to submit competitive internship applications to Nike.

Sam Wiliams, assistant director of employer and student engagement in the Career CenterSam Williams, assistant director of employer and student engagement in the Career Center, worked with Iliscupidez to plan the trip. He says students enjoyed talking with alumni and getting a sense of the Lewis & Clark community beyond campus.

“We have lots of Lewis & Clark alumni employed at Nike,” says Williams. “Many of them want to reach out to our students and serve as mentors and guides.”

Julian Colvin BA ’25, who was one of the attendees, is a rhetoric and media studies major and entrepreneurial leadership and innovation minor from Sacramento. He’s also a defensive back on L&C’s football team.

“I chose to attend the Nike Career Trek because I have always had a strong passion for shoes and shoe design,” he says. “Since I was a kid, I have followed new release dates and reviews of new shoes that are set to come out, most of which happen to have been from Nike.”

Julian Colvin BA ’25Colvin says he picked up a lot of new information from the Career Trek, including background on Nike’s idea development process, possible contractor jobs, and welcoming company culture. “I plan to research more about the contracting job positions in specific departments and possibly pursue one of those,” says Colvin. If that doesn’t work out, he may go on to graduate school to study for an MBA.

The Career Center plans to offer additional Career Treks to area employers, including an upcoming two-day trip to Seattle-based companies during fall break.

“With the Career Treks program, we strive to expose students to professional workplaces, give them opportunities to build networking skills, and help them get more comfortable with career planning conversations,” says Williams. “It’s powerful for our students to see alumni who were once in their shoes.”

Career Center