#nacwaa

This blog has made me think a lot about my career -- even more than normal, I’d say. We always hear that every day is an opportunity to network, make a good impression, or take a step in the direction of your dreams. These are the things we hear, but many of us (men and women alike) often struggle to envision where exactly we are going.

Sometimes this can be a little stressful. Everyone wants to be successful in their career, but how can we aim to move “up” if we can’t see a path to the top? How can we have goals if we aren’t sure what exactly we’re aiming for? I’m sure I’m not the only one with these questions, and I’ve spent the last few weeks taking a good hard look at my professional goals.

Here’s what I’ve decided:

1. Good things happen to those who work hard.

It’s always important to focus on professional growth, but it’s hard to find time to worry when you’re busy working hard to be the best you can and do the best you can. The people we look up to and the people in the positions that we aspire to are often hard workers and got there through work ethic and dedication. When you’re struggling with your career path, focus on that. Hard work is one of those skills that leads by example and speaks louder than words. It’s always one of those traits that can take you places you never thought possible.

2.   Everything happens for a reason.

When I graduated from college, I never pictured myself working at the University of Michigan. I began my career at a small, private, Division II Catholic school in Florida and I had no idea where my path was going to take me. My job was time-consuming and difficult; I was overworked and underpaid, but it’s where I got my start and I’m so thankful for that. Every step I’ve made since my career began has led me to where I am today, and in many cases, my path was decided by people other than myself: people who recommended me or vouched for me. Those generous efforts were things I never planned for, yet they’ve helped make my path and brought me to where I am today.

3.  Every opportunity is a growth opportunity.

I once had a terrible boss (no one I work with now!), and working for that person made me question my career choice and, in turn, my life. That boss taught me literally nothing about my job duties, but instead I learned a lot about leadership and the type of leader that I aspired to be. My time spent working for that person was miserable, but I decided to make it the best I possibly could by using it as a growth opportunity. Rather than wasting my time thinking and/or complaining about how terrible my boss was, I did my job. That manager taught me so much about how NOT to lead people, that I truly learned a lot about myself while working for that person. Not every situation is perfect or ideal, but we can always stand to learn something.

It’s important to focus on the future, but sometimes it’s even more important to focus on the present. If you have a job, you have a job to do, and doing that job is going to get you where you want to go --- wherever that is.

We have gotten some incredible feedback in the last month since officially launching sparklesandsports.com so THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading and sharing our blog. Our views have nearly tripled since we first launched and they are continuing to grow more and more.  

A few people reached out to us about adding a Q&A section in which we can answer questions specific to the viewer. We loved the idea and so we added it right away. Well this week we got our first Q… so here is our A!  

Anonymous Asked:  

What advice would you ladies give to someone who is about to start a new position/role with a new company/organization/dept./etc.?  

Our Answer:  

I have a few pieces of advice for someone who is about to start in a new job or new role at a pre-existing place. Luckily for Anonymous, both Katie and myself have gone through a couple of job changes recently so hopefully we can help.   

1. Be you from the start. To me it is very important to be who you are from the start. Don’t be timid or shy because you want your new coworkers to like you. They will like you more if you are comfortable from day one with them.   

2. Take every opportunity you can to meet your coworkers. 

I am big on disappearing from my desk for a half hour every day just to walk around and chat with the people I work amongst. We often joke that when I go upstairs in our building I disappear for hours because I hop from office to office saying “hi” to everyone from our ticket sales director to the women’s basketball coaching staff to a few coaches I don’t even work directly with. Eventually you will see who you mesh with and will be able to establish friendships outside of the office if you so wish. (SID’s take note, coaches love when you “show face” for no reason but to see how they’re doing). Not only does going for a stroll to see your coworkers show that you are a team player and genuinely care, but it also keeps you from going insane sitting in front of a 15-inch screen for eight hours a day.   

3. Don’t dress to impress. 

I am so guilty of this in the past! I always wear my best and nicest outfits with heels for the first weeks of my new job and then I slowly get into the routine of wearing my comfy dress pants, sandals/flats and nice top attire that I wear every day. This goes hand in hand with my first piece of advice because you want to set the tone for how you present yourself on a daily basis. Now Katie and myself always joke about “Say No to Polos” because we'd rather dress up for work, but if you wear a polo and khakis every day during the school year then don’t be afraid to wear that during your first week of work. Remember, comfort is key!   

4. Take a note. 

Make mental notes (or digital ones in your iPhone notepad like me) for everyone you meet your first week. It will help you in the long run, especially with the people you don’t interact with on a day-to-day basis. To me there is nothing more embarrassing than forgetting a name or face of someone I had a conversation with when I first started in the fall and then there we are at the office holiday party and I can’t figure out who they are/what we talked about and they make me feel like a jerk!   

5. Enjoy the ride. 

My last piece of advice is to just enjoy the ride. It’s like the first day of school, most kids hated it growing up but I loved it! It’s an opportunity to meet new people and explore new places. If you are moving to a new city and don’t know anyone, don’t be afraid to ask a few coworkers to get together and show you around!  

Hopefully my advice helps; it has worked with me so far. I was fortunate enough to know someone at my current school when I got hired so networking and making friends wasn’t too hard. But I sure do wish I had some advice when I took my first full-time job and moved 1,200 miles from home.

We are going to continue to answer our Q&A section as mini-posts between bigger posts. So please keep the questions coming!   Hope you all had a happy & safe Fourth of July weekend celebrating America’s 240th birthday. I promise to be back on my S&S grind when I return from my 16-day trip to New York. 

The annual NACDA affiliates convention is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Not only is it a solid four days of professional development but also it is an opportunity to learn from your peers. This was my fourth consecutive as a member of CoSIDA. I particularly use this time to network and renew. A big part of this profession is that we make acquaintances all across the country and convention is one of the few times we get to see each other and we aren’t on the different sides of the field/court.

Some of my best friends in the business I have made at CoSIDA. Others I have made at past jobs/conferences but now we only see each other once a year at convention. There are a lot of social things to do while at convention and I love those, but I enjoy the time in between sessions when you are all kind of standing around, it’s a good opportunity to walk up to someone next to you and introduce yourself.

This year was my favorite experience.  I learned so much and laughed a lot more. After arriving to Dallas mid-afternoon on Sunday I headed to the CoSIDA Keynote presented by Chris Winfield. I think this might actually be the first time I attended the keynote and I am happy I did, and disappointed in myself for not attending ones in the past.

Winfield talked about how to make small steps to keep moving forward each day. He spoke about designating your MIT (most important task) and spending 25 minutes of uninterrupted time working with a five-minute break eight times a day. I honestly felt like Chris was talking to me throughout his whole keynote. Since returning from convention I have utilized “inbox pause” in Google, which he told us about. I have turned my notifications off on my phone, the less distractions the better as I try to accomplish more in a day without feeling like I am constantly working.

Sunday night I was able to spend time with my Sunshine State Conference friends at the Stretch Internet social. The guys at stretch were so helpful to me during my time in the SSC although they will never admit it, they never complained about my frequent phone calls when technology and myself did not mix. Sunday night was almost like a homecoming to me, so many hugs and laughs and stories being told. It was awesome.

Monday was BUSY! I don’t think I had five minutes to myself to pause and relax from sessions, to meetings, to everything in between. I learned the most Monday and attended “Think Like a Communicator” to “Life Outside of Being an SID”, both of which had great and panelists like April Goode (Virginia Tech), Gina Lehe (College Football Playoff) and Brian Miller (Stony Brook). I also sat in on my perennial favorite graphics session with the legendary Mark Majewski. I honestly think I go watch Mark every year for the laughs because I know I will never amount to what him and Kyle Stopperan (Miami) can create. Although I will say I did learn a few tips and tricks from them, mainly “less is more”.

Monday night I met with a special group of individuals, Jimmy Smith (Delaware), Maggie Hayon (Delaware), Chip Fontanazza (UCF) and a few others as we are setting the foundation for a new organization called CAFEDCA (College Athletics Fan Engagement & Digital Content Association). I can go on about this new organization but I can save that for a later post. Thanks to everyone who took time to meet on Monday night. If you are reading this and are interested in joining the organization, send me an email ([email protected]) and follow @CAFEDCA on Twitter to join our weekly chats at 8pm.

That night we all went to the Sidearm party. There I got to see a lot of old friends especially Ira Thor whom I connected with last year at Young CoSIDA after having a total “fan girl” moment. A year later we have developed a great friendship and I turn to him for advice almost weekly. If you don’t know Ira, I suggest you get to know him.

Tuesday I did the CoSIDA Cares community service project. Aside from community service being a great experience, we worked with the Miracle League of Frisco and Keeper of the Game. After we went to a Frisco Rough Riders game with the kids. It was pretty cool. Tuesday also served as another networking opportunity as I got to formally meet Chevonne Mansfield (American Athletic Conference) and Krystal Warren (Dayton). Chevonne had showed interest in helping out with the blog in the future so I am hoping we can get on her soon.

After community service I went to the NACWAA/CoSIDA reception and then down to the exhibit hall for a little bit before going to dinner with my coworkers and Athletic Director. Following dinner I went to Young CoSIDA which is always the best event of the year. Aside from there being no air conditioning in Dallas and me standing under a fan the whole night, it was a great time.

Tuesday morning came and I went to a few last sessions, the CoSIDA awards ceremony (shout out to Lamar Carter on being this year’s Rising Star) and some meetings. I got to meet my mentor Bill Dyer (Virginia Tech) whom is AWESOME by the way and we had a really good chat, more to come on Bill and my convo in a later post. I had a quick drink with a good friend Ryan Jones (NCAA) while my coworkers finished their last session and before I knew it I was saying my goodbyes and heading to Dallas/Fort Worth for my flight home.

All in all, this year was my best convention. I feel that I learned so much and met so many interesting people. I am looking forward to returning back “home” to Orlando for 2017. I could go on and on about convention but I will leave it at this, next year I want to be MORE involved. I would love to be a panelist; I think that there needs to be more female SID panelists especially when it comes to weighing in on the work/life balance of a SID.

Hopefully for those of you reading this that didn’t make the trip to Dallas I was able to give some insight on what you missed out on. Any further questions feel free to reach out.

"An Open Letter to Sports Leaders: Take Responsibility to End the Degradation of Women" - NACWAA

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