Like most kids, I grew playing sports (specifically, baseball) year-round from 4 years old to 18 years old, competing on multiple teams and spending countless hours dedicating time to the sport I loved. Also like most kids, my dreams of being a professional athlete ended after high school, but I knew that I wanted to continue being around sports in some capacity. My parents had always said to find a job that was related to something that I was passionate about – and for me, that was sports!
Quickly after stepping foot on campus at the University of Oregon there was a notice about joining their Sports Business Club, which was an outlet for students to meet others with similar interests and network with industry professionals. We met as a club once a month and were lucky enough to have regular guest speakers from teams/organizations around the country.
As club members, we were told that networking and obtaining internships was going to separate us from the thousands of other entry-level job applicants’ post-graduation. Heeding that advice helped me secure a ticket sales internship with the Inland Empire 66ers after my Freshman year. Unsure about starting in sales at the time, it seemed to be the quickest path to get my foot in the door. After a few weeks, things were going well, and the role was a good fit as it allowed me to compete in a professional setting.
Based on my success with the Inland Empire 66ers, the next two summers were spent with internships for the Eugene Emeralds and Fresno Grizzlies. These three internships helped build my resume and put me in position to be considered for a full-time entry-level ticket sales job post-graduation.
During my senior year, the club took a field trip to the Portland Trail Blazers Career Fair which featured representatives from a bunch of different teams – including the Seattle Mariners, who eventually offered me a position on their Inside Sales team upon graduation!
After breaking into the industry with the Mariners, my career has progressed to selling Memberships for the Texas Rangers, Premium Seating at the Rose Bowl, and now am the Manager of Inside Sales for the Charlotte Hornets. My passion for sports and desire to compete have allowed me to be successful in each role to date. After realizing my ‘Why’, I was able to focus on achieving goals and making a career out of my passion – sports!