According to Urban Dictionary college is defined as, “A magical place where it is rumored that learning takes place, although to those who enter it is often described differently afterward.” And they define sports as, “America's state-sponsored religion.”
For the most part, Urban Dictionary got it right. College is also a place where you fail at trying to figure out your life, but then you try again and again and finally kinda-sorta get it right. As for sports, that is right, but they also allow for individuals to build character and relationships, while also learning valuable life lessons like hard work, dedication and team work.
After I graduate I want to be work within a Sports Information Department on a college campus. I love sports and building relationships with individuals. In the summer I spend my time at UIndy’s summer registration welcoming all of the lovely freshman to campus. I absolutely love it. So what better thing to do than combine the two things I love than working in a Sports Information Department. Plus, I have worked with remarkable people and it has made me fall in love with collegiate athletics even more.
I feel like it is odd to say that my dream job is working on a college campus. Before school I probably would have laughed at you, said no and walked away. Now, I cannot wait to connect with students on campuses and build relationships with individuals, while helping them achieve their goals as a person and an athlete.
Everything I have done at UIndy will fall into play in one way or another after I graduate. I have had the opportunity of writing and taking photos for The Reflector, being an editor for The Reflector, working alongside the athletic department at UIndy, interning with the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and working with Top Dog Communication.
My work with The Reflector has prepared me for writing game updates on the regular and press releases for different things that come through the athletic department. It has also allowed me to better my writing skills and even my leadership skills. I work with 12 editors and a class full of people on the regular, and it is all about constant communication.
While working alongside the athletic department I have had the chance to really see what happens at collegiate sporting events. I have seen first hand the hours that someone puts in. For some people, that is intimidating, but personally, I cannot wait.
As for my internship I have seen the back side of a collegiate team working with the conference itself. I have built record books from the ground up, which probably sounds super lame to you, but it has been my absolute favorite thing. Like I helped history go down in the books, literally. That is so cool for me.
When it comes to public relations and working with Top Dog Communication, it is a little different than I expected, but then again I was not sure what to expect. Top Dog has forced me to step out of my comfort zone and learn to work with different people in a different process. Top Dog follows a process that is really based on accountability in my mind. Jessi cannot do her job if I do not do mine, and Reagan cannot do her job if Jessi cannot do hers and so on. I have been exposed to so many different applications that I could implement within an athletic department. I think something that can really help me are the Trending Now Presentations. The applications that are presented are so valuable in anything that I will do.
I know it is super cheesy and cliché, but UIndy is really the reason I have had the chance to meet these people, and really they are the reason I that working on a college campus is my dream job. Through three years on campus I have seen Jackie Paquette build relationships with so many different athletes, and I have had the opportunity to work with her and see how she has impacted their lives. It’s something special and I want to be able to help students achieve their dreams while living out mine.