Growing up in central New York I spent most of my free time playing sports with my friends and spending my Sundays racing go-karts. Today, that passion for sports has not wavered but has increased to the point where I can talk about sports with my friends, on a live sports broadcast and feel comfortable doing it. I chose Longwood because it reminded me of my hometown college in New York, it is small, everyone is welcoming, and the Communications Studies program has a lot to offer to students. I chose the Communications Studies program because I knew after high school I wanted to do some sort of sports media and when I visited. I was introduced to Professor Jeff Halliday who has experience in sports media. I was also impressed by the studio the program has as well as the camera equipment.
Since I have been at Longwood, I have had the opportunity to work on multiple sporting events ranging from Dan Campos’ goal vs Liberty to put Longwood into the Big South tournament, to the Big South Softball tournament, as well as calling four senior days on the Big South Network and ESPN Plus. I have had the opportunity to call a women’s soccer quarterfinal game and watched a player make a run at a school record. I have also shot multiple videos for the athletics department, wrote a featured article in the Rotunda, and shot promotional videos for different organizations. The videos show behind the scenes of athletics as well as some of them are promotional videos for a youth band and work out facility. The skills important to me are the ability to shoot good footage. Edit well, so my work looks professional. I also believe it is important to be able to speak comfortably on camera. These skills help me broadcast Longwood athletic events as well as create content for my classes. Moving forward I am looking to be the best professional I can and make sure I have fun doing my job. I want to be involved in sports because I love telling other people stories and connecting them with the audience.