But, this network
goes beyond the country; it’s global. In my cohort (cohort 39), there are six
students who were born in other countries and I believe there are seven in
cohort 40s’ (if I’m remembering correctly) from the orientation I attended.
These students have studied all over the world, making our network even larger
than anticipated. The six I have gotten to know over the last seven months have
opened my eyes to what really occurs beyond the borders and not what is shown
in the news.
Over the last
few days, I’ve been talking with my classmates about their experience so far
and what they hope to learn while studying at USF. Here’s a brief biography
about the six in my cohort!
Sissy Feng,
from Jiaxing, China, is taking advantage of these opportunities to gain
experience in the American sports industry. “The sports industry is much more commercialized in the US than
in China. There are a lot of political factors included in sports in China, the
state sport system dominates the industry”. With the knowledge of how Chinese
and American sports operate, she hopes to bring an American view of sports back
to China. Feng plans to work in professional sports' development in China after
graduation. She says that if any of her friends were interested in this program
and coming to America, she tell them to do so because of the nation's passion
for sports and how professional the industry is”.
Similar to Feng, Jinhee
Byun from Seoul, South Korea is eager to learn what the sports industry is like
here. She always knew American sports were a big deal, but didn’t actually
understand until going to a Stanford football game. As of now, Byun is eager
for more experience is all different areas of the industry because she hasn’t
found a specific focus she wants to concentrate on. The USF program allows us
to work in many areas with all of the connections this program has. As far as
being away from home, it has definitely been something Byun has struggled with.
“Frankly speaking, it’s not easy to live and study in the U.S. I had to
overcome some difficulties such as homesick, language barrier, or culture
differences”, Byun says. “However, I was really satisfied with staying there.
The school and people that I met there were so amazing”. She advises that if
anyone she knows were to be given an opportunity like this, she would not want
anyone to pass it up.
Natalya Ratan, from Dubai, has
lived in California for a few years and is currently working with the Oakland
Raiders. She says, “in the middle east, sport is not a huge industry, there are
few opportunities to work in the industry because it is so small and there is
far more focus on American/European or international sporting events”. Cricket
is the most popular sport in India, so pretty much every other sport suffers in
terms of funding and participation. It’s why a country of over a billion people
struggles with success on the international stage. With her schooling and
knowledge of sports here, she will one day want to return to Dubai, but not
anytime soon. She is hoping to get a better understanding of what exactly she
wants her career in sport to focus on through the Sport Management program.
She’s interned and worked in a number of different departments, which is where
she developed her passion for CSR and environmental sustainability with an NFL
team.
As most in my cohort grew
up playing sports or went to college on scholarship, Jana Soethout from
Cologne, Germany, is still living out her athletic life. She is on the track
and field team here at USF where she competes in distance running. She is able
to balance track, grad school as well as internship opportunities because of
the support from her coaches and professors. After graduation, she plans to
return to Germany to focus on her track career. Until then, with her time at
USF she hopes to “get
a different perspective of the sports industry, to gain contacts within the
sport industry all over the world”. As far as her professional career, she
hopes to pursue a position in marketing at a sports related firm.
Another classmate from
China is Ruoyang Wu. I’ve had the chance to work with her in a group project
and she has to be one of the most knowledgeable people I know. She has told me
that in China, the majority
of the sports resource is under the control of the government. At the moment,
there is no real and open sports industry. She has the smarts to definitely
make a change in China, just from the ideas I’ve talked with her with in class.
As far as jobs after graduation, she hopes to stay in the United States for a
few more years. She has been training for a half marathon (which she completed earlier
this month) and has found a passion for racing and running events. She hopes to
one-day work with events similar to the San Francisco Marathon and Tokyo
Marathon.
Last but certainly not
least is Madeleine Ellingsen-Larsen. She is from Oslo, Norway and is a roommate
of mine. She has probably taught me the most about international sports and
Norway in general. The US is more professional and on a commercialized level while the sports
industry in Norway is really small and built on volunteering. Ellingsen-Larsen has always
aspired to work with the Olympics, especially if they’re in Norway in 2022. When
asked if she would recommend this program to friends back home, she said “I
would tell them to take the chance. It’s really good opportunity to learn
another language better, understand a different culture and meet many new
people”. She’s taught me a lot about winter sports in exchange for baseball
lingo. She may not be an expert, but she understands the basic rules (proud
roommate moment)!
Collectively, they all have
studied if more countries I can count on my fingers and toes, which is why I
think it’s so cool to have people with this much global experience in my
cohort. They have made our cohort more aware of the sport industry across the
country, and have been very willing to learn about American sports. These six
ladies are motivated and determined to excel in school while finding their
niche in the sport industry, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of their
friendship and the knowledge they’ve shared.
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