Note: The following appears in the Texas A&M gameday football program.
A simple conversation with Tanner Dieterich portrays the poise and measured intensity that has become synonymous with his play on the soccer field. The precision in word choice and cadence of delivery leaves everyone understanding how he has risen to great heights of success at Clemson. The Nashville, Tenn. native is in his final season as a Tiger men’s soccer player with a desire to cement a legacy.
Dieterich’s desire to be great is not solely confined to the soccer field, as his drive for success in the professional world is evident. When he returned to Clemson the summer before his junior year, he approached the staff at the university’s student-athlete development department and asked how he could contribute in the community. This question resulted in an internship with Clemson’s communications department, serving the university’s president, Jim Clements.
After a successful completion of the internship, Dieterich, much like in his playing career, was not satisfied and desired more. He made his way back to the student-athlete staff and was encouraged to pursue greater heights, as he applied for an internship with Nike. After a successful application submission and an endless cycle of interviews, Dieterich was selected by the global operations team to become an intern under its supervision.
“Anything that fell under the chief operating officer’s reports is what we handled,” recalled Dieterich. “We executed events for leaders, handled all employee communications and helped with any building openings. The range, breadth and scope of what we did was amazing.”
Now, as Dieterich is back at Clemson, he wants to emphasize a message to his team that nothing has changed despite the senior being absent from Clemson during the team’s preseason preparations.
“First, I want to say ‘thank you’ to my teammates for letting me pursue this opportunity and to represent Clemson, but the message to them is that nothing has changed.”