Dalton Boess wasn’t sure what he wanted to major in when he started college. Now, because of his experiences as a student employee, academic involvement, and internships, he is on a path to pursue a career in collegiate recreation, something he didn’t know existed before he got to Iowa. 

“I decided to study marketing because I figured out that I wanted to go into business,” Boess said. 

Boess’ academic path evolved when he realized he could incorporate his love of sports into his education. He discovered the sport and recreation management program, and decided to add a minor to his studies. He also began thinking about what job he wanted after graduation. 

In spring 2025, Mallory Valentine, associate director of strategic initiatives for Recreational Services, spoke to Boess’ class about opportunities to get involved with Recreational Services and careers in recreation. At that time, Recreational Services was also seeking students for summer internships. The internship opportunity caught Boess’ attention. He applied and was hired in the summer of 2025. 

“The timing for Dalton to reach out could not have been more ideal as we upgraded to a new digital signage software for our facilities. To have a student who understood marketing concepts help us develop the framework and install the software on our TVs was incredibly helpful for the overall success of the project,” said Valentine, Boess’ supervisor for the internship. 

Boess connected with staff to identify programs and events they wanted to promote. He then installed a new digital signage platform on 22 TVs across the four Recreational Services facilities on campus. The digital signage project required collaborations with Division of Student Life communications to ensure brand standards were met. 

“[The internship] experience ended up being exactly what I was looking for. Initially I thought it was kind of just going to be putting together slideshows. Obviously, it was a lot more than that,” Boess said. 

Over the course of his internship, Boess gathered data about the TV screens in each of the facilities, compiling a list of their locations and the likely audience that screen reached. From there, he developed ideas about what content should be shown on the screens and at what time of day it should appear. Boess applied what he learned in his marketing classes to help complete the project. 

“One thing that they talk about in a lot of my marketing classes is targeting and segmenting for different people. That was the first time I actually put that into practice. So that was cool for me to see,” Boess said. 

Further, Boess gained confidence that has translated into other academic settings. 

“I have a lot of group projects that I'm working on right now for class, and I'm a lot more comfortable reaching out to my group members or sending an email,” Boess said. 

Beyond the classroom, Boess says he feels more connected to campus through his work and hopes to work with others. 

“I definitely feel like I'm more involved on campus, and I'm part of what's going on. I hope that my work has a big impact on campus and helps get a lot of people involved in more activities on campus,” he said.

Valentine said Recreational Services and its customers benefited from Boess’ work. 

“To have a more dynamic approach to digital marketing has been huge for our department. We can show participants in real-time facility hours, provide QR codes for engagement, and have more control over our digital content,” Valentine said. “Being able to partner with students who are learning the newest and latest trends is incredibly valuable for us and we are thankful for all of Dalton’s work.”  

Becoming involved on campus helps students to explore their interests, gain new perspectives and understanding, and may lead to expanded academic and professional paths. Use the links below to explore some of the ways the University of Iowa helps students get involved: