Listen Here
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”11″ display=”basic_slideshow”]
By: Olivia Wile
Email: wileo@findlay.edu
Twitter: @ o_wile
University of Findlay students had a chance to step foot in Ohio Stadium last week, but not to play a football game.
Sports Communication students from UF traveled to Columbus last Thursday to meet with different Buckeye professionals. Led by professor Amy Rogan, they got to meet with journalism, marketing and digital media experts who work exclusively with Buckeye Football.
Senior, Kimberley Donah, was among the students who had the opportunity to travel to OSU last week. She says she was shocked by how many opportunities exist in the field of communications – specifically across the different sports.
“I didn’t realize how many opportunities there were in just the football organization,” said Donah. “I also learned that there are so many experiences from internships, to just helping out. And it doesn’t hurt to get your name out there.”
The course, offered for the first time this year in several semesters, spotlights the journalism, public relations, marketing, and digital media elements involved in the sports industry. During the course, the students work on their own sports articles, newscasts and podcasts.
On Thursday, students met with Katie Chokreff: Head of Fan Experience and Marketing, Brianna Lipscomb: Event Manager, Mike Nicholson: Audio, Visual and Scoring Systems Manage, and Evan Derr: Guest Attendant Supervisor. All shed light on their roles with Ohio State football, from on-field promotional contests to overseeing Ohio State red coats, or ushers.
Madi Devries, a sophomore from California, says the experience helped her discover her niche in the sports communication field.
“The information we got from the experts was really informational and helped me realize that certain parts of the sports industry aren’t for me,” explained Devries.
“It did also help me realize how I want to be involved with teams and the promotion of them, and being on the field gave me this unexplainable sense of pride, even being from California and a huge USC fan.”
From USC, to OSU, back to UF, Devries and her classmates continue to shape their skills in the sports industry.
