Rising Stars Spotlights: Ashley Summerset and Kayla Dumon
Ashley Summerset
Summerset enters her second year as the Associate Director, Event Operations at the University of Arizona, her alma mater. She comes from the University of California, Merced, where she served as the Game Operations Manager for three years.
Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Summerset earned her B.A. in Communications and minors in Sports Management and Business Administration from The University of Arizona. During her time as an undergraduate, she interned witih Arizona Athletics Event Management, the office she now works in full time, and lists her favorite memories as hosting the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championship and waking up at 3:00am to work with ESPN's College GameDay.
After graduation, the Southern Arizona native moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., after accepting an internship with the Fiesta Bowl. As a Game & Event Operations intern, Summerset assisted in executing the 2018 Chees-It Bowl and 2019 Fiesta Bowl. Her biggest accomplishment from her internship was serving as a lead intern for Arizona's largest spectator event, the 2018 Fiesta Bowl Parade. Ashley has also had the opportunity to work with her Fiesta Bowl colleagues for two college football semi-finals.
Summerset's favorite career accomplishment this far is hosting the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball March Madness tournament. She currently works with Arizona's soccer, Womens Basketball and Softball programs.
When she is not working, Ashley enjoys binging TV shows, going to the movies, attending sporting events as a spectator, road tripping with family, going out to eat, and going to Disneyland. Ashley loves coming home from work and being greeted by her dog, Bentley.
As a member of Women Leaders in College Sports, Ashley has been a Rising Star Circle Lead, a mentor and mentee, she is a member of the Women's Leadership Symposium class of 2021, and currently serves on the Membership Engagement Committee. For Summerset, joining Women Leaders has been a great opportunity to connect with women across the industry and grow professionally.
Kayla Dumon
Dumon currently serves as a Student-Athlete Services Graduate Assistant at Jacksonville University (JU). This past year, Dumon played an instrumental role in helping the institution achieve their highest GPA mark (3.38) in all of JU Athletics history. Along with Dumon's contributions to the department's Student-Athlete Services unit, she also serves within a leadership capacity for the department's Injured Athlete Support Group and Ahletics Board of Diversity Awareness, along with her assistance as an ESPN+ camera operator for JU Athletics' Multimedia Department. In addition, Dumon served as a seasonal Basketball Operations Assistant at IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) in the summer of 2022.
Dumon's well-rounded skillset led her to becoming one of the fifteen individuals inducted into the 2022 NFL/NCAA Administrator's Academy -- a program revolved around the development of young professionals to emerge in leadership roles within college and professional athletic administration. Dumon has played an active role within the Jacksonville Jaguar's department of Guest Experience as a Guest Experience Representative, specializing in game day operations and optimal fan experience delivery.
Prior to Dumon's arrival in Jacksonville, Dumon served as an Interim Assistant Indoor & Beach Volleyball Coach at State College of Florida )Bradenton, FL), Baseball Camp Counselor at IMG Academy, and Intern for the following departments/industries during her undergraduate stint while serving as a student-athlete and SAAC representative: Athletic Communications, Physical Therapy, and Strength & Conditioning. Her other involvements during her undergraduate stint include the founding of her institution's Asian & Pacific Islander Student Association (APISA) while serving as President, working in collaboration with the Multicultural Student Council, Simmons Center, Allies, and Black Student Union. Furthermore, Dumon served as a third-year senator, orientation leader, Brain Fitness Club for Alzheimer's student instructor, and inductee of the Exercise Science Professional Fraternity, Phi Epsilon Kappa.
A graduate of Florida Southern College (Lakeland, FL), Dumon holds a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science, and is currently working towards her master's degree in Organizational Leadership at Jacksonville University (Jacksonville, FL.).