NYC Trip Experience

I had the great good fortune of traveling with the School of Public Health on a New York City networking trip and my brain was filled with such rich advice. I feel so incredibly lucky. There was a group of twenty students with majors in either Sport Marketing and Management or Sport Communication; two staff members from the Office of Career Services in SPH accompanied us. There was a good mix of sophomores, juniors and seniors. Some students were just looking for guidance about how to better their chances of landing internships; students such as myself were looking for ways in which we could learn how to enter the sports world and eventually land a job. I can’t even begin to express how fortunate I feel to have experienced what I did over the course of two busy days. I now know exactly how to build those necessary relationships that will help me establish myself in the sport industry and make a name for myself. I am going to tell you exactly what I did and what I learned.

Here is the group at the hotel as we go over the itinerary for the first day

 

Since I live in Manhattan, I tried my hardest to help the group out with tips on getting around, but I am not very good with directions—luckily I wasn’t the only New Yorker in the group so the others took the

Here is a picture of me with Morgan Cato, who works in the HR Department

 

Our panelist of speakers at the NBA League Office

lead. Our first stop was the NBA League Office in Midtown Manhattan. Here we had a panel discussion with employees of the office, one was an IU Alum. Morgan Cato from the human resources department greeted us; she was very good at her job, keeping us involved in the conversation and keeping everyone engaged. We then heard from the panel of three men, John Paul Basile, Aaron Ryan, and Justin Gurney. They all have jobs in various parts of the office and we got to hear what they did. Not only did they share their experiences with us, but also they stressed to us how important using LinkedIn is. Because the Internet is a huge part of our generation, it is an easy way to get our feet in the door.

Our second stop was Madison Square Garden. For those of you who don’t know, Madison Square Garden, also known as MSG, is iconic to New York City. MSG is home to the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers and the New York Liberty. MSG also hosts other events such as concerts and other sporting events such as tennis and boxing. The tour was amazing. Although I was wearing heels, it was well worth the pain. We got to see different levels of club suites, ranging from private rooms to boxes that had an amazing view of the court. We got to step out on to the court and it was such an exhilarating feeling. Matt Schulman led the tour, and once we sat down, Sean Finley joined us to offer his background in sports. On the court they were practicing a slam dunk contest which was set to happen later that night during the Knicks game; it made it hard to hear Sean, but something I did hear was how much of an impression writing a thank you note gives. He said that he wrote many thank you notes and that was the way he reached out to people so he was remembered.

Follow the Knicks on Twitter!

 

The last event of the first day was an alumni networking reception at a restaurant named Brasserie Ruhlman right in Rockefeller Center. Unfortunately the tree had just been taken down, but the square was lit up and people filled the ice skating rink. This was an event in which each of us on the networking trip had the opportunity to talk to IU Alumni who are in some way connected to sports. This was so much fun because we had the freedom to get to know IU Alums in a casual setting and were able to freely talk to them about their experiences.

Our second day started with a business meeting at the NHL headquarters, also in Midtown Manhattan. The meeting involved hearing talks from multiple people who worked in various departments. These departments included social media, marketing, product development, advertisement and partnership. The best part about this site was the various angles of business involved in the NHL we learned about. We got to see how the website was updated, how much work is put into advertising on Instagram, and how important sponsors are to the company.

 

 

Our last stop was Yankee Stadium, home to the New York Yankees and another iconic location in New York City. Here we got to see the field and the clubhouses. We stopped at the Delta Sky Club where members pay a hefty fee to have delicious food and watch an amazing game. Here we talked to Dan Rosenthal, an IU Alum. Dan said he lives by a quote he learned from a teacher who we all might know, Doc Sailes. This quote is “ it’s not what you know, but it’s who knows you”, which I think is a quote to live by and puts emphasis on networking. We also heard from Joe Leva, who has an amazing personality and would be a good mentor. I could tell how much he cared for his employees, and he really works on making them better and teaching them. He motivated me to be better, because I want to learn, I want to be the best, and I am willing to do anything. After we talked and asked questions, we walked to the Legends Club, which has been home to famous celebrities such as Jimmy Fallon and Beyoncé and a place where you can be treated like royalty and eat some of the best food in your life.

 

The group with our speakers, Dan Rosenthal and Joe Leva

 

I feel so blessed and so lucky to have been picked to travel on the networking trip. I learned so much information, and I have first hand accounts about how important networking is. It is my job to reach out to people and get to know them so they can get to know me. If there is anything you should get out of this post, it is reach out to people. Reach out to individuals in organizations you are interested in and ask them to talk about themselves. Get to know them, ask for advice, and have a casual conversation, and you never know what may happen after that.

Jillian Sixsmith-Cox is a senior majoring in Sport Communication, with a focus in Telecommunications. She was born and raised in New York City and currently loving her time in the best college town ever. She loves to travel, hang out with friends and take photos. Her passion is playing sports and she enjoy to making other people laugh.

 

Categories: Career Advice Networking

IUSPH Career Services

Job opportunities for Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington majors are diverse and expanding as the emphasis on living a healthy lifestyle grows around the world. Career Services experts in each of our academic departments will provide one-on-one counseling and career building opportunities throughout your academic career, from choosing the right major to developing a strategy to find a job. They can assist you with:

•career counseling
•internships
•job placement
•volunteer opportunities
•resume and cover letter preparation
•interview skills
•networking
•graduate school preparation