One of the most impactful points of my collegiate experience at Syracuse was competing as a track and field student-athlete while majoring in Sport Management.
As an undergraduate student, I was very involved in the SU Athletics Department, the SPM program, and on campus in various leadership roles, but as my senior year rolled around, I was unsure if I wanted to attend law school in an effort to work in the front office of a sports league, or work in a player development role with a specific sport team.
For my senior Capstone, Professor Veley persuaded me to accept an internship with Major League Soccer in New York City. My internship experience reminded me how much I enjoyed teaching and connecting with others through education. After graduation, I decided to pursue a master degree in Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation (IDDE) at Syracuse. Through that program, I learned the importance of incorporating assessment and evaluation throughout a process, a skill that I use daily. After completing my master, I served as a Learning Specialist and Assistant Tutor Coordinator in the student-athlete academic support unit at LSU.
I now work as a Learning Specialist at the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center at the University of Tennessee. I am able to combine my passion for education by facilitating independent critical thinking, challenging and supporting student-athletes in an authentic way by sharing my experiences as a student-athlete.
The experience I gained in the SPM program at SU helped to prepare me for a career in sport and I am continuously reminded about the power of connection. The SPM family-type network gives me an opportunity to connect with a variety of people in differing aspects of sport. I have mentors and friends for whom I will forever be thankful. I am proud to be an SPM alumna and will continue to serve the department and university in any way that I can.