Current Position Title:Director of Athletic Communications/Media Relations, Western Kentucky University

Hometown: Tupelo, MS

Degree: B.S. in Sport Studies (Communication), 2014

What are the responsibilities of your current position?

I serve as the Sports Information Director for the WKU Baseball and Cross Country teams, while also serving as the secondary media contact for football. With that, I do tasks such as: stat keeping at sporting events, writing press releases to be posted on our website and sent to local and national media members, maintaining the social media pages for said sports, updating record books and weekly game notes for the website and for media members, and other tasks.

How did your education at MSU help prepare you for work in the field?

My education at MSU has been very beneficial to my field. Classes such as Sports Ethics not only grew my knowledge on the different aspects of the field, but it also pointed me in multiple directs and allowed me to see all of the different ways to work in sports. Not only did the Sports Studies curriculum have a great impact on me, but choosing the Communication emphasis allowed me to obtain a Journalism minor and grow my expertise in that field as well.

What advice would you give to current students looking for internships or jobs in the field?

For current students that are looking for internships/jobs in my field or any sports field, I would strongly, STRONGLY encourage them to get involved on campus for volunteer work or any sort of internship while taking classes. I know Gregg Ellis from MSU Media Relations does an incredible job at giving students a chance to gain valuable experience while still in school. The same can be said about the marketing department and also office work for different teams. Not only are these things incredibly important to stand out on a resume, but they also give you a chance to try different departments to find out what each student truly has a passion for. Although most of this work is volunteering and without pay, these are things you HAVE to do to gain experience.

The other piece of advice I would give would be to use your internship class on something away from MSU. I feel it is more valuable if the student goes to an internship away from MSU for more experience, but to also grow your professional network. Who knows, those internships can either lead you to a job there, make you stand out more on a resume, or help you meet a future employer.