Co-op Confidential: Kevin Murray, Student Alumni Liaison

Name: Kevin Murray
Year: Junior
Co-op Employer: Drexel University Office of Institutional Advancement
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Job Title: Student Alumni Liaison - Alumni Discovery Initiative

Co-op Confidential: Matt Louis, Scholastic Play by Play Classics

Name: Matt Louis
Year: Sophomore
Co-op Employer: Scholastic Play-by-Play Classics
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Job Title: Marking and Public Relations Coordinator

What is Scholastic PlaybyPlay Classics?
Scholastic Play by Play Classics is an organization that hosts the best high school basketball teams and players from around the United States for tournaments and showcases. Current and former NBA players that have been showcased by SPBPC include: Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Dejuan Wagner, Eddie Giffin, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Durant, O.J. Mayo, and Michael Beasley. SPBPC has hosted camps and showcases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee.

The Sports Biz Report - Episode 2.14 - Co-Op Panel Recap

The Sports Biz Report - Episode 2.13

Guard the Post: Keys to Interviewing Success

With Drexel Co-op interviewing continuing and the new year right around the corner, it is time to improve your interviewing skills. Below are a few tips to doing your best at every interview and hopefully getting that dream job!

The Sports Biz Report - Episode 2.6 - Bryan Fyalkowski

Leaving your Mark: Be Thankful in Your Sports Career Pursuits

One of my esteemed blog colleagues, Kevin Rossi, wrote a piece in 2012 titled “Under Further Review: Saying Thank You”.  While I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, I can’t help but revisit the topic of being grateful in your career (and during college) with Thanksgiving less than a week away.  While you should absolutely thank your family and friends, do not forget about that person that you interviewed with or met with at a networking event or career fair.  Don’t forget to thank your clients/customers or prospective clients/customers.  Be sure to express your appreciation to the professor or advisor that as provided advice and mentorship.  These minor gestures of appreciation go a long way in building and maintaining professional, and sometimes personal, relationships.  In the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” sports industry that we are all in, this aspect is especially crucial.

Leaving Your Mark: Post Co-op tips

All too often, faculty, staff, academic advisors, co-op coordinators, and I emphasize what you should do as you start your six-month "ultimate internship." We talk about asking questions, introducing yourself to your bosses and co-workers, being punctual, dressing professionally, etc. However, we may not spend enough time evaluating what you have learned from your recently completed co-op (an applying this to the classroom), reflecting on the experience, and transitioning back to the classroom. Here are some reminders:

A Midst a Playoff Run, Thunder are Still Booming

“Fun happens here”. A playful slogan of the Trenton Thunder is able to summarize my summer with the team thus far. In what has evolved to be one of the most historic summers in Thunder history, the fun is far from over. From the numerous rehabilitation assignments to the 8^th millionth fan in attendance, this summer has been one for the ages.

5 Lessons Learned from Co-op

It is the midway point of my 6-month co-op at Trenton Thunder. Below are 5 tips that can improve any internship experience.

1) Leaving your comfort zone will open new doors

Now is the time to try new experiences without having to fear falling flat on your face. That is because at this point in your career, it is acceptable to fall flat on your face. Remember, internships are learning experiences. The more involved you are around your workplace, the more it will be noticed and the more likely you will be asked to take on larger responsibility.

Co-Op Confidential - Kevin Rossi

Name: Kevin Rossi
Year: Sophomore
Company: Comcast-Spectacor
Location: Philadelphia, PA

What does Comcast-Spectacor do?
Comcast-Spectacor, not to be confused with “Comcast”, is the company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center.  Comcast-Spectacor also assists in some of the Philadelphia 76ers operations.  Also, Comcast-Spectacor has Global Spectrum, Ovations, New Era Tickets, Front Marketing, and others under their umbrella of companies.

What are your responsibilities?
I'm an intern in the Technology Solutions department; however, I usually just tell people that I work in the market research department because that sums up my job easier.  The game day interns during the season administered surveys at games and basically my job is to now clean up the surveys.  This requires a lot of time spent on Excel.  The ultimate goal is to get the information prepared for the end-of-season report that will be presented to the stakeholders.  After this big project is done, my job will be changing a lot.  Since there isn’t as much to do during the offseason, I will be jumping from department to department helping out where needed.  I’m actually looking forward to that because I’ll be able to meet some more people and get closer to figuring out what I want to do with my career.

Do you like it so far?
I have thoroughly enjoyed my co-op experience thus far.  I have connected with a bunch of people so far which will be extremely beneficial down the road.  Never too early to start building up a network!  Some of the information is interesting, but I am getting valuable experience in an extremely valuable field.  One of my projects required me to research into different customer relations management (CRM) systems.  On the surface it isn’t too exciting, but it is beneficial to get familiar with all of the different options out there.

Are there any downsides?
Sitting at a computer for most of the day is tough.  Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not very good at sitting still.  I’m more of the up-and-at-‘em type.

What are you looking forward to?
The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is jumping around from department to department.  When that time comes I will meet a lot more people and learn a lot more about the business.  Considering I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with my career, this experience and networking will be extremely valuable in trying to figure things out.  Plus, I love learning, so learning anything new is always a huge positive. 

Interested in sharing your co-op experience?  Contact DrexelSMTSU@gmail.com for details!