Kristen Nett is impacting all levels of the sporting world through her nonprofit WISHING. In less than two years, the organization has engaged and inspired young girls around the country to get in the game and pursue careers in the industry.
“The idea all started with a LinkedIn post,” said Nett, who serves as the assistant director of community and charitable relations for Husker Athletics and is a 2019 alum. “I just said, ‘Hey, women working in sports — would anyone have any interest in mentoring high school girls, specifically in Title I schools who don't have resources or funding to do things like this? I don't have any set plans. I'm just wondering if there's interest.’ And that post immediately blew up.”
From there, Nett knew she was onto something bigger than just casual interest. Pulling together an executive team, she quickly formed the nonprofit WISHING (Women in Sports Helping Inspire the Next Generation) to connect professional women in the sports industry with high school mentees around the country.
“Our mentorship program is nine months long with both in-person and virtual options available to keep it accessible to everyone,” Nett, now pursuing a master's in business administration, said. “Students and their mentors go through a curriculum and workbook to learn real world skills needed to succeed in the industry.”
Much like her initial LinkedIn post, the program quickly garnered incredibly positive feedback from mentors and mentees alike. As she suspected, Nett’s seeing firsthand how much having a role model can inspire the next generation of young professionals.
“I had one girl tell me, ‘I'm just really thankful because I didn't know before that girls could hold these positions in the sports industry,’” Nett said. “It’s amazing what exposure and representation like this can do, and we need more of it.”
With their first national conference happening in Chicago later this year, Nett and her WISHING team are keeping up the momentum to expand the program further. After a breakneck first two years, she's feeling grateful and confident that their work is making an impact.
"It’s so important to help people out because you were once in their shoes trying to get where you are today,” Nett said. “We need people helping each other out, being kind to each other and including people who might’ve normally been excluded.”
