EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again this summer, Front Row’s Intern Chronicles series showcases some of ESPN’s summer interns. For more information on ESPN Internships, visit the Disney Careers site.
At ESPN, interns are getting hands-on experience from the very first day they step foot onto the Bristol campus — and there’s no better example of this than ESPN NEXT interns Milena Velez Melendez and Jelianys (Jely) Ramos Burgos.
In the ESPN NEXT Internship program, interns like Velez Melendez, a recent graduate, and Ramos Burgos, an incoming senior, get the opportunity to build a strong foundation across platforms, gain exposure to ESPN’s diverse content ecosystem and grow within a community rooted in collaboration and creativity, according to Sierra Galanza, Director of ESPN NEXT & Cross Platform Development.
“ESPN NEXT is the entry point for aspiring storytellers,” said Galanza. “Through immersive training, hands-on production experience and intentional career development, the program cultivates the next generation of content leaders.”
These interns work behind the scenes of studio shows like ESPN FC in Velez Melendez’s case.
“I did a highlight the other day on [Major League Soccer’s] Inter Miami, but I think right now, everyone really is taking their time to show me how to do things,” she said.
Both interns had sports media experience before arriving at ESPN, but they took different paths to get to this point. Velez Melendez, a journalism major, began her sports journalism career in her freshman year of college at Penn State, joining Culture Central, a student-run television network at Penn State; and The Daily Collegian, where she got to interview people like 2025 ESPY award winner Katie Schumacher-Cawley.
However, Ramos Burgos’s journey began with her major in health science ,before finding her calling utilizing her mass communication minor at the University of Florida.
“My first opportunity came in August of 2024,” she said. “I started covering local high school for ESPN Gainesville, and from there, it has just taken off.”
Although their stories are different, these interns share one very important thing in common: They’re both from Puerto Rico, where sports is inherent to their culture, Velez Melendez said.
“In Puerto Rico, sports is more than sports,” said Velez Melendez, who hails from Caguas. “Every time there’s a big sporting event going on, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anywhere else in the world [compared to] how the community and everyone gets together.”
Overall, both Velez Melendez and Ramos Burgos — who’s from Humacao — reflect positively on their experience in the ESPN NEXT program.
Ramos Burgos called being at ESPN “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“The amount of knowledge that I have gained while being here is just indescribable,” she said.
ESPN Communications summer intern Jacqueline Litowinsky produced the videos
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Jackie is a summer intern with ESPN Communications and an incoming senior at Seton Hall University, where she’s double majoring in Public Relations and Journalism. A former head editor of her college newspaper’s News section and a recent Mark of Excellence Award nominee, Jackie has also collaborated with FOX Sports University and currently serves as President of Seton Hall’s PRSSA chapter.
