34 OSU senior nets a London internship — and a way to follow her grandfather’s footsteps. A glimpse of the Games Matt Elliott story A senior advertising major had the opportunity to be in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Kellee Cooper, a native of Bristow, landed an internship with the British company Bodymetrics during the biggest event in town since, err, well, the city hosted the Games in 1948. Cooper isn’t the only OSU person in her family who has been to the Olympics. Her grandfather, Dr. Donald Cooper, was a physician assigned to the Americans for the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. He helped the United States to 107 medals at that year’s Games, the highest total of any nation that competed. Cooper was also OSU’s team physician for more than 40 years and one of the nation’s leading experts in sports medicine at the time. “He’s one of the biggest inspirations of my life because he sees what he wants out of his life and he does it,” Cooper says. “He knew he wanted to be a doctor ever since he was 4, and that’s what he worked for his whole life.” In contrast to her grandfather’s time with the Olympics, Cooper spent her time working for Bodymetrics, which sells scanning technology to clothing makers to design better-fitting clothing. In addition to “typical intern stuff,” Cooper says she assisted with photo shoots and helped with styling, helping others pick out what they want to wear. She also helped the company market itself using social media. Her background as an American was very helpful, too, due to the fact that the company was expanding in the U.S. “It was really cool to see the ins and outs of what all goes on,” she says. “I had never worked for a business before, so that was very enlightening.” The only OSU student to participate in her intern program, she lived in a neighborhood near London’s historic Hyde Park with other students from the United States who were interning at other area companies. “Now, I have friends all over the country,” she says. “That was probably my favorite thing, meeting the other people who were in my program.” It wasn’t a work-only summer for Cooper; she also attended some events of the Games, including the women’s triathlon. Cooper, who graduates in May 2013, says she hopes to get a job in styling or copy writing for advertising. London also showed her she loved the fast-paced life of a big city (and public transportation, too). Whatever she chooses to do, her internship showed her the possibilities were endless if she put her mind to something, just like her grandfather saw when the Americans took home 107 medals at the 1968 Olympics. “He’s one of the biggest inspi rat ions of my l i fe because he sees what he wants out of his l i fe and he does i t.” — Kel lee Cooper
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