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/ Men's Track & Field
Summer Spotlight: Joey Duerr
7/20/2018 1:24:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field
Joey Duerr is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and will be a redshirt junior next season. Setting two personal records during the track season in the indoor mile (4:10.07) and the outdoor 5,000 meters (14:09.71), Duerr also made his first NCAA postseason appearance at the NCAA Midwest Regional. This summer, Duerr has traded in his uniform for business attire as he's interning with Prevent Biometrics. Take a look at his summer internship in this question/answer session.Â
What is your internship and can you tell us the process of how you were able to obtain it?
I'm working at a startup called Prevent Biometrics. They're making a mouth guard that monitors impacts to the head during games (football, lacrosse, hockey, etc.). The mouth guard records those impacts and sends them to an iOS app on the sidelines. The hope is that the app will alert athletic trainers and coaches when an athlete has taken an impact large enough to cause a potential concussion. It also can be used as a coaching tool to identify athletes who take more impacts than average and then instructing correct technique.
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As far as the process of lining up the job goes, it wasn't easy. I waited until December to start searching for a position, so I felt like I was a little behind from the start. From there, I went to the University of Minnesota Career Fair where I got a lot of great connections. Then working with Anissa Lightner pretty much every day to establish more connections and grow the ones I already had. Anissa was absolutely amazing. She really pushed me to do all of the things I needed to do to line up an internship.
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 How did you know that this was a good internship to take this summer?Â
 A big part of it was the atmosphere of the company. Prevent is definitely pushing the envelope when it comes to cutting edge technology and concussion reduction. Because of that, the people the company attracts are progressive and productive, as well. I really liked that. Prevent is also very small. There are less than 20 people who work here so you meet everyone. I've been involved in a variety of roles within the business which is invaluable for a college student who isn't entirely sure what they want to do.
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What are your primary responsibilities within your internship?Â
Honestly, there are a lot of different things I'm doing. I work with the sales team quite a bit generating client leads and thinking through the strategy behind a beta test we are conducting. I'm also involved on the engineering/product development side. There, my responsibilities are a little techier. I've been doing some data analysis, reprogramming and provisioning circuit boards, and running tests on the mouth guards we've already made.
Â
You're working with a former U of M athlete, Drew Goodger (played football from 2011-14). Is it nice to have that connection with fellow Gopher and how has he been able to help you in this position?
It's been great to have a connection with Drew. That connection made the hiring process a lot easier. Drew definitely knows the challenges of being an athlete: the time commitment, the physical and mental grind. But more importantly, he's familiar with the kind of growth those challenges incur. It was awesome to have someone in my corner from the get-go. He was really my "in" to Prevent.
Â
What skills are you learning this summer that can help you in the long term?Â
Working at a startup, there's definitely less structure to my internship than with larger, more corporate companies. Because of this, it has forced me to be a self-starter. I have to seek out new things to do, new projects and new opportunities, really. I think that will benefit me down the road because it comes as a bit of a shock to people when you're itching for something more to do. Some seem surprised when you get a task done quickly and seek out another one, I don't think that's a totally normal thing to do. But, that's a great skill to have, looking for and expecting to find something else to do.
Â
Some exciting things are happening with the new track and the 2018-19 season. What are you most looking forward to?
That's easy. I'm really excited to have a place for our team to practice together. Without a track the last few years, we've been spread out between Hamline, Concordia, and our indoor facilities. I think of it as a huge benefit to work out in the same location when it comes to growing as athletes and growing as a team.
Â
What is your internship and can you tell us the process of how you were able to obtain it?
I'm working at a startup called Prevent Biometrics. They're making a mouth guard that monitors impacts to the head during games (football, lacrosse, hockey, etc.). The mouth guard records those impacts and sends them to an iOS app on the sidelines. The hope is that the app will alert athletic trainers and coaches when an athlete has taken an impact large enough to cause a potential concussion. It also can be used as a coaching tool to identify athletes who take more impacts than average and then instructing correct technique.
Â
As far as the process of lining up the job goes, it wasn't easy. I waited until December to start searching for a position, so I felt like I was a little behind from the start. From there, I went to the University of Minnesota Career Fair where I got a lot of great connections. Then working with Anissa Lightner pretty much every day to establish more connections and grow the ones I already had. Anissa was absolutely amazing. She really pushed me to do all of the things I needed to do to line up an internship.
Â
 How did you know that this was a good internship to take this summer?Â
 A big part of it was the atmosphere of the company. Prevent is definitely pushing the envelope when it comes to cutting edge technology and concussion reduction. Because of that, the people the company attracts are progressive and productive, as well. I really liked that. Prevent is also very small. There are less than 20 people who work here so you meet everyone. I've been involved in a variety of roles within the business which is invaluable for a college student who isn't entirely sure what they want to do.
Â
What are your primary responsibilities within your internship?Â
Honestly, there are a lot of different things I'm doing. I work with the sales team quite a bit generating client leads and thinking through the strategy behind a beta test we are conducting. I'm also involved on the engineering/product development side. There, my responsibilities are a little techier. I've been doing some data analysis, reprogramming and provisioning circuit boards, and running tests on the mouth guards we've already made.
Â
You're working with a former U of M athlete, Drew Goodger (played football from 2011-14). Is it nice to have that connection with fellow Gopher and how has he been able to help you in this position?
It's been great to have a connection with Drew. That connection made the hiring process a lot easier. Drew definitely knows the challenges of being an athlete: the time commitment, the physical and mental grind. But more importantly, he's familiar with the kind of growth those challenges incur. It was awesome to have someone in my corner from the get-go. He was really my "in" to Prevent.
Â
What skills are you learning this summer that can help you in the long term?Â
Working at a startup, there's definitely less structure to my internship than with larger, more corporate companies. Because of this, it has forced me to be a self-starter. I have to seek out new things to do, new projects and new opportunities, really. I think that will benefit me down the road because it comes as a bit of a shock to people when you're itching for something more to do. Some seem surprised when you get a task done quickly and seek out another one, I don't think that's a totally normal thing to do. But, that's a great skill to have, looking for and expecting to find something else to do.
Â
Some exciting things are happening with the new track and the 2018-19 season. What are you most looking forward to?
That's easy. I'm really excited to have a place for our team to practice together. Without a track the last few years, we've been spread out between Hamline, Concordia, and our indoor facilities. I think of it as a huge benefit to work out in the same location when it comes to growing as athletes and growing as a team.
Â
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