Alumna Kelly Baker ’24 is hitting her stride at Nike Running

This story, written by UNC Hussman alumna Jess Abel ’19, ’25 (M.A.), was originally published at college.unc.edu.

Kelly Baker ’24 came to Carolina undecided but, through classes in exercise and sport science and the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, merged her passions for sports and marketing.

Now, the Raleigh, North Carolina, native works at Nike as a North America partner marketing specialist for running, where she manages relationships with specialty partners across digital, in-store and experiential marketing efforts. In her free time, Baker is an avid runner who enjoys dabbling in all areas of sport. At Carolina, she was a varsity athlete on the women’s rowing team.

She shared more about starting her career and her favorite Tar Heel memories.

What led you to Nike to start your career?

I got my foot in the door through Nike’s internship program, which I stumbled across on Handshake while checking my spam mail during my sophomore year. After an incredible experience during my first internship, I felt I’d only scratched the surface of the impact this brand could have on me (and vice versa). After my second internship, I was fortunate to receive a full-time offer.

What is a “typical” day in your life at Nike?

It usually involves a workout on Nike’s campus, meetings around running workstreams I’m involved with (recently, the After Dark Tour and Chicago Marathon), sending product to stores to bolster marketing efforts, creating marketing assets in tandem with agency partners and more! Every day is a little different and the work is always evolving, so it keeps me on my toes.

What do you love most about your job?

I love working in performance sport, specifically running. I fit Nike Running’s consumer muse like a glove, so it’s been fun to serve a demographic I closely identify with.

The people I’ve always considered to have the “coolest” jobs were those close to the product, consumer or athlete. My role gives me ample access to all three. I’m involved in work across our running footwear construct, stay close to consumers through partners who interact with them daily and often have athletes support our larger activations.

What were your favorite classes at Carolina? What made them special?

I loved how well my two majors complimented each other. I always viewed the combination as allowing me to pair what I loved (sports) with what I was good at (marketing). “Fundamentals of Sport Marketing” was my favorite sport administration class. We worked with ESPN to build partnership briefs around engaging consumers through their women’s sports initiatives. That’s a space I’d love to work in someday, so the project directly aligned with my interests. At UNC Hussman, I loved every class I took with Gary Kayye, but specifically “The Branding of Me.” In my experience, the best classes were those in which the professor let you make the class your own, and Gary did just that. The semester involved writing LinkedIn blogs to creatively leverage our personal brand before entering the job market. My network expanded greatly from this class, and it has opened many doors for me since graduating.

Is there a lesson that you learned from rowing at Carolina that you apply in your career?

I walked on to UNC’s women’s rowing team during COVID-19 after missing the hustle and bustle of student-athlete life in high school. Never would I have imagined it would be the best decision I made at Carolina.

Rowing taught me a lot about myself, including how to push past limits I didn’t know existed, the undervalued power of sheer discipline, holding the smallest detail to the highest standard and compelling people towards excellence.

One lesson that has stuck out as I’ve started my career involves balancing passion with credibility. Passion wasn’t enough to justify picking up a demanding Division 1 sport; I also had to prove to my coaches and teammates that I not only wanted to be there but had every intention of doing whatever it took to stay there. Balancing these effectively has been immensely helpful as I’ve learned the ins and outs of a new chapter of life.

If you could time travel back to being a Carolina student for a day, what would you do?

I’d go for a run around campus on the 5-ish mile loop I loved in college, spend time with friends at the NC Study Center, watch UNC men’s basketball beat Duke in the Dean Dome and finish the night rushing Franklin St.

What’s your advice for current students?

First, if you have the time, take an independent study. During my senior fall, I built my own sport administration independent study about the business case for women’s college sports. The topic directly aligned with my personal and professional interests and allowed me to conduct deep research, evaluate the current landscape, form my own conclusions and speak with folks across the industry. It’s one of the best things I did at Carolina.

Second, don’t sleep on Handshake, and use LinkedIn to showcase the passions, credibility and personality that your network wouldn’t have insight into otherwise.