Meet Jake: Good Shepherd’s Summer Media Intern

Growing up in Madison, baseball has been a part of my identity. When I was five years old, I played my first tee-ball game. At 21 years old, I am still playing in an Madison-Area adult summer league. Apart from playing ball, I am also one of the biggest Brewers fans you will meet. My family and I love to watch the Brewers, whether it’s on television or at American Family Field. Some non-baseball related hobbies that I enjoy include playing video games, going on walks, and watching Netflix.

One of my favorite hobbies is buying and selling sports cards. Throughout the Spring of 2020, I had ample free time on my hands. I decided to dust off some old boxes of cards that I had tucked away in my storage room. Searching through my childhood baseball card collection, I discovered that many of my cards had increased drastically in value. Some friends and I then began to sell our collections together through a joint Instagram account titled “Mad City Cards”. Throughout the days of quarantine, were able to organically grow our following on Instagram by the thousands. We now own accounts on eBay, TikTok, and Twitter. Managing these social media accounts helped grow my passion for marketing.  I am actively searching for new ways that Mad City Cards can reach prospective customers and maintain loyal customers.

I have recently graduated from UW- La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Although I had a wonderful overall experience attending college in La Crosse (aside from Zoom classes), Madison feels like my home. Going forward, I have particular interest with Digital Marketing and learning more about social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization. My goal this summer for the media internship is gaining experience that will be useful in my marketing career.

Lastly, I would like to thank Rick Blum (my softball teammate) for introducing me to this position at Good Shepherd. My family and I are members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and attended church services frequently when I was younger. I plan to get more involved now that I am back home from college. Overall, I am anticipating a fantastic summer as I get to know each of you at Good Shepherd!