Career Day 2015
Pre-Career Day Questions:
- What is Career Day at HTHNC? What is its purpose?
- What are three careers that you would be interested in? Why?
- Management – Being a natural leader, this might be the most suitable career for me personally. I would obviously have to work my way up the ranks to become a manager of sorts, but I like working in a team and problem solving. As a business manager, I could interact with others every single day, which is something that I would really enjoy.
- Sports Journalism – One of the skills that I hold that I am most proud of is that I am a writer, but I love sports, too. If I were able to combine these two aspects to become a sportswriter, I would be living my dream. I could write for a media source such as ESPN or The New York Times, etc., or even be a beat writer for a professional sports team. The only disadvantage about this career is that it does not make as much as others as far as salary go, (unless one was really successful), so I will have to keep that in mind moving forward.
- Sports Travel – This is actually a very new career that I was exposed to recently, but I think it would be really fun and rewarding. I know about travel directors–or should I say–I know a travel director, (my mom), so this career is in a little bit of familiar territory. I think it would be a nice role to be in charge of planning the travel portions of a team's journey to various locations around the nation. Booking rooms at hotels, making schedules, and planning flights would all fall under the category of sports travel. I will hopefully find more about this position at my Career Day location.
- What kind of education do you need to have in order to work in each of these careers?
- Management – B.S. in business management, economics, finance, accounting, etc.
- Sports Journalism – B.A. in journalism, English, communications, etc.
- Sports Travel – B.A. in communications or B.S. in hospitality management, business administration and management, etc.
- What do you think would be fulfilling about each of these careers? How does it match up with what you are interested in/love now?
- Management – It would be fulfilling to walk into the office as a leader every day, and have people look up to me for both direction and guidance. Right now, I am a student ambassador at HTHNC and a leader in other clubs and sports, which has inspired me to step up and take charge. I have always wanted to work with others to reach a common goal, and I am a firm believer of compromise. If one person is being a tyrant, the entire team is left in the dust and would eventually become frustrated with that leader. If I could influence others to follow my style of leadership in the workplace on a daily place, I could help to create a more positive, communal environment.
- Sports Journalism – Currently, I operate my own sports website with my brother called R&R Sports Analysis, (rrsportsanalysis.weebly.com), and I enjoy publishing every single issue. While it is a lot of hard work and I face some crossroads while writing some of my articles, I approach each topic I want to share my thoughts on with a fearless attitude, and I feel that this is an essential component to every writer's success. Considering the controversy that often follows sports, I would love to have my own column for a newspaper or website, or let the world know how I feel about something I am passionate about through the art of words.
- Sports Travel – Planning and implementing a travel plan for either a collegiate or professional athletics program or sports team would definitely be satisfying in the sense that I would be responsible for all operations related to the welfare of the team. I would look up ratings and reviews on hotels in whichever area the team was going to stay in, and I could plan out the schedule of when everything was going to take place. Presently, I am really intrigued by the idea of travel, (specifically regarding sports), and I am also very organized, which might make me a very viable candidate for the job.
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Post Career Day Questions:
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- Describe a typical work day at this site.
The day usually starts at 8:00 a.m. for her, and in the morning she reviews emails, and handles "anything and everything", from answering questions from alumni members to checking tasks off of her to-do list. She would contact venues and donors for fundraising, and meet with community relations to discuss upcoming opportunities for outreach and events. Danielle also told me that last Tuesday, she met with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the MLB for a collegiate-professional partnership. The deal would work where the D-Backs would receive résumés from UCSD for potential employment opportunities within their various departments. Danielle is additionally in charge of preparing UCSD alums for job interviews and meetings with those of importance.
Monica Hall: Director of Travel and Sports Camps
At the beginning of the week, Monica compiles a list of all of the student-athlete travelers for all teams, and coordinates name changes for plane tickets on each of the flights. She is also responsible for creating rooming lists for the hotels, checking the eligibility of the athletes, and putting together a travel packet for the coaches. Some of the other tasks Monica has to complete every week include processing prior paperwork, organizing recruiting trips, and looking over each student's grades and injury reports to check their status for the trip ahead.
Scott Flanders: Associate Athletics Director of Communications
Game days are usually hectic for Scott, for he has to cover some doubleheaders in basketball twice in a weekend, preparing for the games in any way possible. On these busy days, Scott may work from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., logging anywhere from 12-14 hour days. During games, Scott is in charge of statistician work, and writing articles after the game has concluded. However, Scott notes that he has "a lot of flexibility in his schedule", and he would not take back one difficult work day because he knows that it is all for the benefit of the student-athletes.
Tara Snowdeal: Athletics Operations Coordinator (Equipment Manager)
For Tara, every day is different in her words. Each week, she has to complete her scheduling duties, make sure facilities are available for daily practices of all 23 teams, and work with coaches on those times and dates. She also does laundry for team uniforms, shops for new ideas in relevant Adidas and equipment catalogs, and works with inventory software for orders.
- What are the business's general work policies (tardiness, absence, dress code, technology use, etc.)?
- What sort of tasks/activities are the people at this business participating in?
Danielle coordinates events with alumni members, contacts sponsors and host venues for raising money, and is additionally responsible for much of the community relations work. She coordinates the events UCSD holds at various times of the year for alums, and sends out letters and makes phone calls to donors to contribute economically. Michelle mentors former student-athletes for their career paths, from job interviews to making portfolios to reaching out to prospective employers, etc.
Monica Hall: Director of Travel and Sports Camps
Monica coordinates the travel operations of all 23 UCSD teams, and the staff, too. She sets up room blocks for the trips, and sends a list to each of the coaches of which players will be traveling, the form of transportation they will be using, the amount of meals they will have and what they will be eating, and which hotel(s) they will be staying in. As another portion of her job, she processes paperwork, organizes 13 sports camps for San Diego's youth, works with the NCAA Compliance office, and reserves facilities for practices and games or matches.
Scott Flanders: Associate Athletics Director of Communications
Scott's job is to publicize and promote the UCSD athletics program through media outreach, and communications efforts. He has to research all 630 varsity athletes across all 23 UCSD athletics teams, and run the official UCSD Tritons website. Scott also oversees the creation of the programs handed out before every sporting event on campus, and is the manager of all of the @ucsdtritons social media accounts. At games, Scott keeps score and records statistics, whether it be women's basketball, or men's volleyball. After every game, Scott writes postgame articles regarding the events of that night's matchup between UCSD an their opponent.
Tara Snowdeal: Athletics Operations Coordinator (Equipment Manager)
Tara's work involves working with teams on practice times, and making sure those respective facilities are available. She looks through uniform catalogs to pick out which jerseys and shorts/pants that each of the 23 NCAA teams would put on for the next season in competition. Tara communicates with local and corporate vendors for sponsorships, too, giving her squads a better chance to be noticed by higher-level organizations. Possibly the most intriguing part of her job involves the customization of uniforms through digital programs she was given when she was hired by the UCSD athletics department. When it comes time to purchase these uniforms, Tara is thankful for the 50% discount the school receives on equipment and clothing.
- In what ways do you expect your high school classes and the skills you have learned to apply to this profession?
- What sort of credentials/degrees did your mentor need to have in order to gain this job?
Danielle was a member of the UCSD Tritons water polo, and graduated from the University of California - San Diego with a bachelor's degree of science (B.S.) in biology, and later went on to receive a master's degree in sports management from Drexel University after switching career paths.
Monica Hall: Director of Travel and Sports Camps
Monica graduated from the University of San Diego (USD) with a bachelor's degree of the arts (B.A.) in interdisciplinary humanities with a focus on history. (She notes with a laugh that her degree had nothing to do with where she is now in sports travel).
Scott Flanders: Associate Athletics Director of Communications
Scott earned a bachelor's degree of science (B.S.) in sociology from the University of New Hampshire, where he landed his first job with the sports journalism department there.
Tara Snowdeal: Athletics Operations Coordinator (Equipment Manager)
Tara's alma mater is small Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, where she received a bachelor's degree of science (B.S.) in exercise physiology.
- What new insight did you gain about working in the professional world by shadowing your mentor?
- Is this a career you are interested in pursuing? Why/why not?
- What would you like to keep in mind for Career Day 2016? (What would you have done differently this year? What do you want to make sure for next year?
Career Day 2015 Resources
Note: All of the responses from my interview questions were included in the information above. I shaped my questions so that they would match the requirements of my DP page. :) |
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