Chaminade University senior Miranda Diaz has been the first softball player chosen to be one of the two 2025-2026 PacWest Conference interns. This is a competitive role that gives students rare access to the world of collegiate athletics administration.
The NCAA PacWest internship program is offered by the Pacific West Conference, a Division II athletic conference that Chaminade competes in. This program was designed for college students that are aspiring to work in college athletics. The interns get to support conference operations, championship management, and NCAA-related projects.
Senior Miranda Diaz is a Sports and Event Management Major who is also a third basemen on the softball team at Chaminade as well. She works two jobs (at Raising Canes and 85 Bakery) and stays on top of her classes. She was a member of the 2025 All-Academic PacWest team.
Diaz has jumped right into the internship head on helping with the cross country championships on Oahu a couple of weeks ago, helping with set-up, planning and interviews. She also posted social media content posting interviews and highlights from the competition learning new skills along the way.
Jori Lincoln, Chaminade’s Athletics internal operations manager, was a huge part of the behind the scenes of the PacWest volleyball championships and was able to see Diaz in action. Lincoln was a Sports and Events Management major in college and an intern in her college career as well and said Diaz contributed to making sure the tournament ran smoothly.
“I got to see her get a lot of experience in terms of making sure we had all the little things that all come together to make a tournament happen,” Lincoln said. “That experience is going to be something that’s important in any role that she has in the future, and I’m excited to see her grow.”
Diaz is also responsible for the behind-the-scenes work for assigning weekly and season awards, putting together championships, and curating information behind the social media posts such as PacWest Player of the Week and Team of the Week on the PacWest website and Instagram.
“I’ve learned a lot about running and updating websites, something I didn’t have much experience with before,” said Diaz. “I’ve become much more confident using Google Sheets to organize information and track details for events. And honestly, my communication and collaboration skills have grown a lot.”
The PacWest Conference internship is in its fifth year and has provided college student-athletes who aspire to have careers in college or professional sports a chance to test their skills and the waters while getting the experience under their belt.
Diaz works beside PacWest staff members Joe Reinsch and Russ Blunck weekly via Zoom where she and the other intern get assignments and learn skills to take with them throughout the process.
“Working with Joe and Russ and seeing how they run things has opened my eyes to career paths I never really considered before, and it’s pushed me toward wanting to be more involved in the administrative and leadership side of sports,” Diaz said. “It’s helped me see the bigger picture of what I want my future to look like and given me real motivation to pursue it”
As the internship progresses, Diaz’s work continues to reflect the purpose of the PacWest program. Her growing experience in event operations, compliance, and strategic communication will take her far in her career, making her prepared when she graduates in Spring 2026.
“My communication and collaboration skills have grown a lot, whether that’s coordinating with staff, pitching ideas, or working alongside the other intern to make sure everything runs smoothly,” Diaz said. “I have learned a lot about myself and hope others take this opportunity to grow as well.”
With each assignment, Diaz is gaining clearer insight into the complexities of athletic administration and the skills required to excel in it. Looking ahead, she encourages future applicants to take full advantage of what the internship offers just like she is.
Diaz will work beside many coaches, managers, directors, and PacWest staff throughout this process growing her knowledge in all that athletics has to offer. The internship is a semester long and will end in December, getting passed onto two new student-athletes in the conference.
“I hope she just takes in every moment she can, any opportunity she has, learn from it, soak up all the information that you can get,” said Lincoln. “I learn something new every single day.”