It’s difficult to fathom that two years have passed since I made the decision to move to northeast Tennessee to take a big step in my broadcasting career and attempt to earn a Masters degree. With Saturday marking the final day of the educational journey, and Sunday culminating my broadcasting work in my graduate assistant position at ETSU, I felt that sharing some of what I’ve done would help me process everything that’s gone on since June of 2017.
In the summers, I broadcasted Elizabethton Twins baseball, the High Rookie affiliate of my hometown Minnesota Twins, and had the chance to call roughly 115 games over the two seasons, both ending in Appalachian League championships. During those years, I was able to visit with nearly every player that came through Elizabethton as they attempted to move up the minor league ladder, many of those individuals experiencing professional baseball for the first time. I also put a bow on each campaign with the Story Of The Season and final highlights of the big games the team played down the stretch. Below are links to the 2017 and 2018 season capsules:
During the school year, I served as play-by-play voice of ETSU women’s basketball, baseball, men’s/women’s soccer, softball and volleyball. In addition to play-by-play duties, I acted as internal multimedia journalist for the athletic department, executive producer and co-host of Sandos & The Sidekick, the only Monday-Friday athletic department-produced podcast in the country, and sports information director for women’s golf, triathlon and men’s/women’s cross country. The 2018-19 athletic year was a particularly busy one, as I took on more extensive creative duties within the athletic department as well. Some of the above tasks resulted in a busy year on social media:
COLLEGE GAMEDAY CAMPAIGN
FIRST NCAA FOOTBALL PLAYOFF APPEARANCE SINCE 1996 - RADIO MONTAGE INTRO
VIRAL SENSATION BRITTNEY EZELL
FIONA DODGE MIDFIELD GOAL
Finally, and most unexpectedly considering my meager academic resume during my high school and undergraduate careers, I was awarded the ETSU Department of Media and Communication’s Outstanding Graduate Research Award for the work done on my 143-page thesis “A Better Predictor of NFL Success: Collegiate Performance or the NFL Draft Combine?”. Did I get a bit carried away on the length? Considering the page count, I wouldn’t begrudge that opinion, but I’m so thankful I was given the opportunity to throw so much effort and detail into an academic product, and believe me, those are words I never thought I’d say.
Of course, along the way, I had to have a bit of fun academically, too:
All the content from the College GameDay campaign on down was within the last eight months, so needless to say, it’s been a challenge, but one I’m glad to say I was able to meet head on in that timeframe, and over the last two years since I arrived. Overwhelmed with joy, and overeager for my next chance to tackle a task the size of this one, whatever that may be!