Interview with 2020 interns of Riot Games' student support program "LeagueU"!

Kimura : I'm Kimura, a rising senior at Keio University.
I was a Riot intern from April 1, 2020 to the end of March 2021.
I have been playing LoL for about 7 years and my favorite champion is "Cho-Gus".
Recently, I'm into using him in the bot lane (lol).

Ishihara : I am Ishihara, a new 4th year student at Kinki University.
I'm a Riot intern from September 2020 to the end of July 2021, which is a bit later than my original plan.
I have been playing LoL for about 5 years and my favorite champion is "Kyana".
I play mid lane a lot, so I like assassin champions because they give me an advantage in small fights.

Kimura: I used to participate in tournaments as a student team within my circle.
While participating in several tournaments, I felt uncomfortable with the tournament format, which ended after only a few games, because I couldn't show my ability and it was only a temporary memory.
I thought that a longer tournament format would be a better experience for the team, and I applied for the Riot internship to make this happen.

Ishihara: I had been planning and organizing student-led game tournaments and events for some time.
However, there were some hurdles that could not be overcome by student initiative, so I applied for the Riot internship in order to challenge myself to plan and manage them at a higher level.

Kimura: The JCC All-Japan Student Championships in the summer of 2020.
We added the newly released "VALORANT" as a competition title, and planned and managed it while taking into account the schedule conflicts with other competitions.
Although the schedule was quite demanding, we were able to achieve our long-standing goal of holding a tournament with a longer duration of competition.

Ishihara: The "Student Caster Online Boot Camp" was held prior to the student competition "Spring Challenge Cup" in March 2021.
One of the problems we faced in organizing a student-led competition was the difficulty in inviting casters and guests.
We had to deal with the hurdles of not getting offers and not being able to come up with the money, but with the advice of our Riot interns (Riot Games employees), we were able to make that happen.

Ishihara: The "Spring Challenge Cup" was a memorable challenge and experience for the students.
The concept of the competition was to give students a memorable challenge and experience, not only for players but also for casters.
The caster team for the live commentary was also recruited in advance, and the selected students were instructed by Jaeger, Recruit, Oooda, and yukishiro, who are also active on the professional scene, in the "Student Caster Online Boot Camp".
Specifically, the participants first received lectures on caster skills from the guest lecturers in a lecture format, and then received feedback from the guest lecturers on actual game footage with play-by-play commentary in a real-life game format.
We hope that a new generation of casters will emerge from this event, especially Jaeger and Recruit, who are currently official casters of the LJL after having participated in the "LeagueU" student tournament.

Kimura: I have been involved in the "Spring Challenge Cup" from the time the theme was first proposed, and I have been working on it step by step with the advice of the Liatter team.
I also worked on the proposal and publicity for the competition and distribution.
On the day of the event, I had the final say in the event and was in charge of the event proceedings.

Ishihara: The "Spring Challenge Cup" was particularly large in scale, and we worked closely with the agency.
However, since we had never been in the business world before, we were not accustomed to working with such companies, and it was difficult for us to smoothly carry out our duties.
However, at the same time, it was an environment where it was easy to consult with our liaisons, so we received advice each time and became accustomed to how to communicate with them.

Ishihara: When we were student-led, we had to do everything by ourselves, such as managing the images used for the tournament and advertising, scheduling, communicating with the players, and organizing the day of the tournament.
However, as a Riot intern, I was in a position to request and instruct others to do these tasks, and I was in charge of overall management, which made a big difference.
Also, the sense of responsibility is incomparably greater because the scale of the project is so large and many different people are involved.
That being said, I felt a great sense of accomplishment when the entire convention schedule was completed.

Ishihara: I have participated in internships in other industries before, but at those internships, I just did what the company told me to do.
On the other hand, the Riot internship provides an environment where you can find what you want to do, make proposals, and if your proposals are accepted, the company will do its utmost to support you in realizing your ideas.
This is a lot of responsibility, but I think it is a very valuable experience for students.

Kimura: It was a very valuable opportunity for me to see up close how people and things work in a company.
I think it was a year of experience that will definitely be useful in the future, regardless of the company or industry.

Ishihara: I believe that the thinking process, problem-solving methods, and ability to take on various challenges that I gained through this Riot internship will be useful in any industry.
This experience gave me confidence and one of my strengths.

Kimura : When I first started as a Riot intern, I always felt that I was not competent enough, but as I gained more opportunities and experience, I was able to enjoy feeling my growth.
I know the hard work will continue, but please don't give up until the end!

Ishihara: Riot interns can easily propose what they want to do or what they are interested in, and if it is something positive, they will positively cooperate with you to make it happen.
If you like e-sports, "LoL," "Valorant," etc., and want to help make these communities more active, this is a great opportunity to learn various things in a fun environment.
I hope you will take on this challenge with a positive attitude!