July 22, 2026
Emily’s attitude has always been to never shy away from new experiences and professional opportunities. So, when her manager for her Husker Athletic Fund internship told Emily to apply for an internship with the Academy of Country Music (ACM), Emily didn't hesitate to go for it.
When Emily didn’t get the role, her manager had to convince her to try again the following year.
“I had totally moved on,” Emily laughs. “I had all these plans in place to get more involved in ASUN, but my manager sat me down and said, ‘No you’re doing this and it will change your life. I’m going to watch you submit this application.’ And, of course, she ended up being right.”
In hindsight, Emily can’t believe she’d ever questioned trying again. Though she’s been steadily gaining a range of internship experiences since high school, her semester-long experience in Nashville with the ACM last spring was unlike anything she’d ever done.
“I was absolutely floored by my experience — it was so incredible. Getting to move to a new city for a semester and work in the heart of the music industry was so surreal.”
Working for the ACM’s philanthropy arm, Emily was on a small team tasked with organizing an annual benefit in Las Vegas.
“Our team was in charge of ‘Country on the Green,’ which is a Topgolf fundraiser tournament that then transforms into a country music concert with huge headliners,” she explains. “There were so many moving parts and only three of us on our team, so I really got to touch every tiny detail of putting together a massive event like this.”
When the night finally came and Emily saw all those details coming together successfully, she knew the feeling she was experiencing meant that she’d found her career path.
“When the golf ended and they started constructing the stage, I got so emotional. I couldn’t believe this was finally all happening. I was so enamored with the experience of working on this — I’ve always wanted to work in events and am so thankful for this incredible experience I’ve gotten in this industry.”
Emily Frech is a senior marketing major from Erie, CO.