Where did you attend school before WSU and what was your major? I attended Stony Brook University as an undergraduate, which is located in New York, and I majored in Health Science. I did not think about working in college sports until my senior year but began to consider it because of my experience as a student-athlete.
What made you decide on the Sport Management Graduate program at WSU? As a senior, I began to apply for different graduate assistant positions, which led me to research sport management graduate programs. I noticed that the marketing department at WSU Athletics had won the Team of the Year award in 2013, while the Sport Management Department was one of the few COSMA-accredited programs in the country. I was able to secure an internship with the Marketing department and a graduate assistant position with the Sport Management department, which solidified my decision to come to Wichita State. I also had lived in New York for my entire life and wanted to experience something else, so I figured Kansas was probably one of the most different experiences I could get.
Where are you working now as a GA and what kind of duties are you responsible for? I am currently the Graduate Assistant for Shocker LIFE (Life Skills program) and Student Services at Wichita State Athletics. Some of my roles and responsibilities include being an academic coordinator for 23 student-athletes, being an academic mentor for 9 student-athletes, monitoring study hall, and co-teaching a Freshman 101 class for student-athletes. Along with those roles, I create content for and monitor all social media platforms for Shocker LIFE, organize and facilitate community service activities for student-athletes, and plan the end of year student-athlete award show. I also help create and lead different programming for professional and personal development such as career workshops, bystander intervention training, DiSC personality tests, mock interviews, and leadership events. Along with my graduate assistant position, I work as a Marketing Associate where I have a variety of other duties as well.
Do you have any advice for students who are considering graduate school? I would suggest for students who are considering graduate school to do as much research as possible on the jobs that they want in 3, 5 and 10 years from now. Many jobs require or prefer graduate degrees so I would suggest looking into different graduate assistant positions in the field that they wish to work in. I personally value education very highly and would suggest that everyone consider graduate school, especially if it can get paid for.
What has been your best experience as a student so far? I don't know if there has been a single experience that stuck out to me, but going from a health science degree to a sport management degree has really showed me that this is the field that I want to work in mostly because of the people. Sports are a major part of my past and I have found a great group of friends who are like-minded to me with similar interests, ideals, and values. Being able to find that group of friends in a foreign place to me has been a great experience in itself.
Do you have anybody in particular that you have looked to as a mentor? I have been fortunate enough to have two great mentors at Wichita State. Reggie McIntyre, the Assistant Director of Marketing has been a great influence and help to me in terms of teaching me about the college athletics industry, developing me as a person and a professional, and just being real. Dr. Mark Vermillion, Department Chair for Sport Management at WSU, also is somebody that I really enjoy learning from and just talking to because he is one of the smarter, yet more down to earth people that I have come across. He also does not directly work in the athletics department but is close enough to athletics where I can go to him for a variety of topics. There are other people who I can consider a mentor and I would still feel comfortable reaching out to today.
What advice do you have for students considering a Sport Management degree? I would suggest that students try to get involved in as many different types of sport as possible. Even if they were to volunteer for something for a day, it is a great way to experience the industry first-hand and really understand what goes into it. There are so many different options for sport management so the more experience the better. I would also suggest that they only get into sports if it is something that they are truly passionate about. If those students are going into sports because they want a lot of money or a cool title, then I would suggest they sit down and think about what is most important to them and see if it aligns with what they would be doing in their every day job.
What is your dream job?
My dream job is to be an Assistant or Associate Athletic Director of Student-Athlete Development at a low level Power 5 School. To supplement that position, I would like to get involved with different committees at the NCAA or the Conference level as well as NACDA and N4A.