Tuesday, August 26, 2014

August Updates

Ever since I was little, I've always thought of August as a new start. Mainly because that's usually when school starts, or at least it did for me from elementary up until college. As I've explained in previous posts, the Sport Management program at USF is a little different. Even though I've been in school all summer, I still anticipate a new adventure or beginning of some sort in August.

In the last month, I've been on a whirlwind of an adventure. To start, about every two years the Sports Management program plans an international trip that counts as an elective class. With the addition of Dr. Michael Goldman from South Africa, students from multiple cohorts will be given the opportunity to study abroad in January. I was lucky enough to be chosen, so I will be starting off the new year in South Africa! I will definitely be blogging about the experience in January.

Last week, my cohort and I started a new class, 'Social Media in Sports & Entertainment'. Our professor is Brian Srabian, the Director of Digital Media for the San Francisco Giants. Being in the Bay Area not only allows me to meet and work with so many great people, but learn from the best as well (how many programs have staff from a professional team teaching classes!?). To say the least, with my love for baseball and social media, this is about to be a fun eight weeks for me.

Speaking of baseball, I went on my last baseball trip of the season down to Los Angeles to see the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. Being in SoCal and knowing some classmates from the Orange cohort (C15S), I invited three of them to the game. I think having a class in SoCal is a unique aspect of the program because it expands our network as students even more.

Orry Night, Julio Alcaraz, Ryan Morse, and I


Finally, with baseball season winding down and football beginning, back in May I reached out to the San Francisco 49ers communications department, just wanting to pick the brains of their staff, learning about what their day to day jobs are like. I asked basic informational interview questions, the kinds I asked back the first class I had with Dr. Cellini. After a few e-mails and understanding football media and getting to know them, I basically asked if there were any opportunities for me to either shadow or work game days to have first hand experience. To my surprise, they agreed to bring me on board to allow me to learn and give me that opportunity!

Press Box View at Levi's Stadium
I've learned to never be afraid to reach out because you never know what could happen. Knowing the 49ers are a top and well-known organization, I assumed they already had people in line to work the games, not thinking someone like me who sent a random e-mail would be welcomed. Turns out my assumptions were wrong. Whether you're in the Bay Area or taking courses else where, always reach out! Even if it doesn't lead to a job, making that connection could help you in the long run.

Until next time... :)