To catch everyone up:

Hey friends...thanks for reading!  Overall, my hopes for this blog are to keep a digital log of my experiences as a recent graduate and young professional in the field of sport promotion.  I want to actively participate in the learning process of my new job and feel like a blog is a great way to hold myself accountable to this goal.  I also wanted an avenue to share my experiences with you: my friends and family, or whoever else might be interested.  This is an exciting time for me.   I am certain that I am about embark on a journey that I will not soon forget, and would love for you all to share in these experiences with me through these blog entries.

The past couple of months have been bittersweet scary, chaotic, and exciting for me as I graduated from Clemson in one of the worst job markets our country has seen.  For those who don’t know, I graduated without a job, as did many of my friends, and without any certain plans.  I knew I wanted a job in sport promotion, and I knew that those opportunities were few and far between, but could not broaden my field of search out of fear of losing sight of my true ambitions.  I was fortunate enough to be able to ride out my lease in Clemson this past summer and continue my work in the Men’s Basketball office thanks to the generosity of our new head coach Brad Brownell and his staff, who had no reason to keep me on…they had only known me for a brief period of time.  As summer crept by, and job opportunities seemed to slip through the cracks I realized that I might have to come to terms with the unthinkable: that after 4 years of living on my own, I was going to have to move back in with the Parents.  I was getting used to the idea and trying to line things up in Greensboro for when I returned and then one morning I woke up, sitting straight up in my bed (getting up for me is usually a much more drawn out process) and thinking ‘I cannot move back home…my mom will make me throw away half of my clothes!’. 

As trivial as the thought was, it was the first of several events that led to the start of a career path.  That same day I received an email from a college friend and classmate, Leslie Farmer, saying that she was leaving her current position at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (former Donaldson Center in Greenville, SC) to pursue an opportunity with meals on wheels and that she was looking for a qualified replacement.  The job was not in sports…in fact it was the farthest thing from it.  It was also not a full time position, but it was an opportunity to manage the public relations and Communications efforts for SCTAC and seemed to certainly be the type of job that would open doors to future careers in general PR.  I was unsure about the job, but even less sure about moving back home, so I decided to meet with Jody Bryson, CEO of SCTAC.  After meeting with Jody, I felt completely at peace with my decision to jump on board with their team.  I got the job on Friday, started Monday (my close friend Channing was so great to let me crash with her for the week), and I had so much fun in my first week learning about the job and SCTAC.  I never thought something so technological in nature could be so interesting to me, and I called my parents every night to tell them how much I LOVED what I was doing.   

Coincidentally, on my way home from work after my third day, I got a call from Will Webb, Executive Director of Charlotte Collegiate Football, offering me an internship position.  Charlotte Collegiate Football is a nonprofit that runs the ACC Championship Football Game and the Meineke Car Care Bowl game, and is located in the Raycom Sports office.  I began going through their application process in February which ended for me in the middle of July with the understanding that I would not be interning with them.  When I got the call, my immediate reaction was that, because of my job at SCTAC, I would have to let the opportunity pass me by.  I thought there was no way I could leave a job I had already taken, especially one that I enjoy.  I spent the rest of the night praying and speaking to family about the situation.    The general consensus among a few of my close friends and family members was that ultimately, this was a business opportunity and that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I let the opportunity of my dreams slip through my fingers.  Ultimately I had to come to the decision that the position with Charlotte Collegiate Football was an opportunity that I simply could not pass up.  This is the opportunity that I have been praying for and I knew that if I didn’t seize it, I may never be offered a chance to break into sport promotion and pursue my passion again.  All that to say, I went into work on my fourth day and quit my job.  It was one of the tasks that I have dreaded most in my time as a young adult, but Jody Bryson could not have been more gracious to me.  He told me that it was exciting that I was getting the chance to pursue my dream career and even asked to stay in touch.  I will never forget the unnecessary kindness that he bestowed on me as it allowed me to pursue my dreams in full force, without guilt, and also reassured me that the decision I had made was, in fact, the right decision for me. 

I started interning today and don’t think there was one moment where I didn’t have a smile on my face.  Even though the day was filled with simple tasks and typical ‘first day of work duties’ like setting up my new computer, meeting the team I will be working with, and touring the Raycom Building, I enjoyed every minute of it.  Sarah, the other intern, and I got to familiarize ourselves with the Meineke Car Care Bowl Game and ACC Championship Bowl Game social media sites that we will be heavily involved with (you can follow both on twitter: @ACCfootballCLT and @MeinekeBowlGame) and also tried to figure out the new seeding and selections for the 2010-2011 bowl games…we are still not sure if we got all the information right!  We will definitely be taking a second and probably third look at that tomorrow.  We also got to learn about a lot of the promotional events we will be working with, which is really exciting!  The only moment that I did not enjoy was when one of the team members asked me whether I had a Blackberry or a Droid, and I had to ask him to insert a third option.  I quickly realized that I was the only one at the table without one of the two communication devices, and was immediately aware of my dyer need for a smart phone! 

Overall, the day was great.  I’m living with the Conrads right now (My aunt and uncle) and Carrie and Ryan (cousins) are still here so it has been fun getting to spend time with the family during the fabulous dinners they have prepared for the past two nights!  I will be updating this blog regularly, but do not anticipate a post ever being this long again…just wanted to catch everyone up at once.  Excited for my second day tomorrow!