Admitting that wasn’t easy. After all, if you’re a female, it isn’t the most common or socially acceptable pastime. Let’s be real here — how many girls would pass up shopping at the mall to stay home to watch a Subway Series game? To guys who love sports, I’m the coolest girl. To guys who don’t, just a girl. And to girls, well, I’m practically one of the guys. But that never bothered me.
Sports have always been a passion since I watched Karl Ravech, the first member of the Pipe DREAM JOB series, on SportsCenter when I was in second grade. Growing up, I chose to make sure that my passion would become my career, so I began to contact people in the business and reached out to then-Newsday columnist Jon Heyman, the second feature of this weekly column, about careers in sports journalism. I contributed sports articles for my school paper and even wrote my college essay on how I attended the first game at Shea Stadium after Sept. 11. Once Binghamton University accepted me and my essay on the importance of sports in our lives, I contacted then-MSG Network anchor Jenna Wolfe, BU alumna and the final professional of Pipe DREAM JOB, about college life at BU and the opportunities it provided for careers in the sports industry.
I guess you could say I started young, but to me, the only way I can know about a career is if I hear about it directly from a person in the field, which is what inspired me to start this column. Whether you are a sports enthusiast like myself or not, my hope is that you got a feel for the unique and high-profile professions that were featured throughout this semester’s Pipe DREAM JOB series.
I don’t know about you, but I found it pretty interesting to hear that SNY broadcaster Gary Cohen doesn’t use any outline of topic discussions on air, or how NBC anchor, Len Berman’s “Spanning the World” started as a joke. When NBA Players Association Attorney and BU alum, Ron Klempner, explained how he was the only attorney free to handle the NBA case at his law firm, or when ESPN.com editor and former Binghamton student, Jay Lovinger, used BU alum Tony Kornheiser to help him land a job, well, it just provided a small sample of what the real world is like. My hope is that those of you who read any of the articles took pleasure out of the semester series and found at least something appealing in each person’s career path.
I must say, I’ve been very fortunate to get a head start on my own career in the sports field. In the past four years, I have done anything and everything to put myself in a position to get the job of my dreams when I graduate. Right after high school, I had my first internship at the Long Island Press where, somehow, I was able to interview the New York Mets team and go in the dugout and clubhouse, and sit in the press box during the game. To this day I can’t believe I had that opportunity. A few internships later, one at a sports public relations firm and two up here in Binghamton at the Senators and Mets in the marketing departments, I worked my way into MLB.com and eventually the Baseball Commissioner’s Office. As an intern in the Special Events department, I helped plan the All-Star game and got to help coordinate the company outing at Shea Stadium.
I’m not writing this article to pat myself on the back or ask for praise from you, the readers. I’m writing this to show you all that you can easily go out and find a creative way to get the experience needed to get your own “dream job.” I hope these columns not only provided insight and knowledge about the sports industry, but also about what it’s like to work in any industry.
I don’t think I’ve done anything more than anyone else is capable of doing. All you need is the drive to succeed and the willingness to go out and reach the people who have the jobs of your dreams. As a student, we are at a great advantage to speak to these people in the business, ask a few questions about their field and show an eagerness about their career. SNY National Sales Manager, BU alum Brett Ehrlich, the third member of the series, said, “I wasn’t smart enough at that time [in college] to use my connections and be bold enough to reach out to people and be in jobs that I wanted at the time.” If there’s any advice I can give you, it’s listen to his advice. Sure, it may be ambitious or nerve-wracking to pick up the phone and dial someone in your future field, but you’ve got nothing to lose.
I don’t know where I’ll be working next year after I graduate from Binghamton, but I know I’ve got a lot of options — options that you all can have if you target the field you want to work in. I was fortunate enough to know what field I wanted to go into and constantly have pursued it.
But deep down, I’m just a student like all of you reading this.
I’m just a sports fan who’s trying to find my own “Dream Job.”
Published Dec. 4, 2007 in Binghamton University's "Pipe Dream" Newspaper
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