Career Path Of A Director Of Business Development Sport At Exos

I went to the University of Arizona and graduated in 2014. While there, I was part of the Sigma Kappa sorority. I was lucky because a sorority sister told me about a sports marketing group she was involved in.

I had no idea you could work in sports. I had already changed my major twice since my sophomore year, as I had no clue what I wanted to do. The moment she said "sports marketing," I knew that's what I wanted.

I went to a meeting with her and instantly got hooked. I didn't know what it was or if marketing was my calling, but I wanted to be at arenas and at the field. I knew this was the world I wanted to be a part of. That group introduced me to other clubs on campus, like the Wildcat Club, which was a philanthropy.

I wasn't a good salesperson, so I didn't want to do that kind of benevolent work. The sports marketing club was where I got my start. I did odd jobs like stuffing envelopes and putting t-shirts on chairs, but at least I was in the athletic department.

At one of the events, I met Matt Eck, who had just been hired as the director of recruiting and player personnel for the University of Arizona football team. We chatted, and he asked if I wanted an internship with the football team. I said yes.

I had no idea what recruiting or player personnel meant, but I knew it was one step closer. So, I just said yes. I stayed with him for two years, and he is still one of my dearest friends and my mentor. He's the one who really got me into the world I've grown into.

After college, I got a job with the Phoenix Suns through someone I met at one of the sports marketing meetings at the U of A. He was my boss. I worked for the Suns for six months and realized sales wasn't for me.

Then, I received a LinkedIn message from the director of football operations at Iowa State University, asking if I wanted to interview for a recruiting role. I said yes. About a month later, I moved to Ames, Iowa, which was a culture shock coming from Arizona.

I was there for a year and loved it. I ran the whole student program, with about 25 students under me. Being freshly out of college and managing college students was a wild experience, but I learned so much.

Unfortunately, at the end of that season, our head coach was let go, which is common in college football. I applied for a job at my current company as an operations coordinator, got the job, and moved back home. I've been with Access for almost eight years now, in a variety of roles. That was the path; it was fast, quick, and all over the place, but it worked out perfectly.