HOW I LANDED MY FIRST JOB

Aspiring journalists often ask me how I got to where I am today in my career, and also mention that I am really lucky to be working for an NHL organization. I give the best advice that I can and try to explain everything I've done thus far, but to be honest this still doesn't feel real to me. Working for a professional sports team was something I always thought would be my end goal. Never in a million years did I think it would happen for me, let alone right out of college as my first job. While I still find myself processing how I got here, it is fun to look back and share my story.

One random evening in January of 2020, I was working a closing shift at Texas Roadhouse where I was a server in my final year of college. It was really slow and there were only a couple table seated in the restaurant. I pulled out my phone and was sitting on the counter (it was really slow) and caught up on any unread notifications that I had. There was one that I wasn't expecting but immediately caught my attention. I received a LinkedIn message from someone on the Wild's marketing team that they had a new position they were looking to fill and wanted to see if I'd be interested. I couldn't say yes any faster. I couldn't believe it, I still had another semester left of school and I was anticipating having to pack my bags and move across the country with my dog to a place we have never been and knew no one.

I could count the people on one hand that I had told that I had an interview with the Wild. I never expected to get the job, I just thought it was going to be really great interview experience. The day the interview came I was a nervous wreck. I was getting ready to work a St. Cloud State Men's hockey broadcast when the time came, and I thought I was going to throw up and I was sweating through my shirt. I was a nervous wreck, but I must have done okay because they emailed me back a few days later saying they were really impressed and wanted me to come in to in-arena host an upcoming game for a live interview. My nerves became even more intense, but that was the moment I realized how badly I wanted this job, but still never expected to get it.

The very first game I worked was a rush. It was so much fun, and I had no idea what I was doing but just did my best to go with it. A couple mishaps happened where the prompter went out when I was live with a contestant for a game so I had to improv which ended up working out, and then I got into a collision with Nordy (the team mascot) during the t-shirt toss but we both made it out okay. I had a few friends who came up to the game to support me and it meant the world and made me feel that much more comfortable. I don't know if you guys believe in signs and this might sound silly to some of you, but I knew this job was where I was meant to be (I still didn't know if I had the job at this point) when right on the set where the in-arena host has their stage, there was a newspaper article framed about my high school hockey team's state tournament victory from back in the 70's. The crazy thing about it was I had told the person who was interviewing me about that exact game earlier that night. I thought it was fate.

After my first game, they wanted to have me back to work some more games for the remainder of the season. As 2020 would have it, the next game that I was supposed to work was the same game that the NHL paused their season. As the pandemic raged on and the sports world shut down, I was really struggling. I felt really discouraged and was hoping that this was still going to be an opportunity for me. There were emails exchanged back and forth in the coming months to stay in touch, and then it finally happened one day in October. I got the email I had been waiting for; I got the

job!

I share this story not only to let you know more of the crazy and unexpected ride to get where I am now, but to hopefully encourage you as well. The sports broadcasting industry is an unpredictable one, and I learned that immediately through the pandemic. Although I think we can all agree 2020 wasn't great, it gave me great perspective and appreciation for things and opportunities I once took for granted. I know some of you are still waiting for your first job, and don't get discouraged as hard as the waiting season may be. Some advice I can give is to promote yourself and your work as much as you possibly can. I posted stories I worked on and my demo reel so many times on my social media to let people know I was available for work so much it probably was really annoying, but it worked. Use this time to network with others in the industry, and don't just network, genuinely work on forming relationships. If you don't have a LinkedIn, make one. If you don't use your Twitter, start. I believe those two platforms have helped me tremendously. Also, in this current age we have so much technology at our disposal that you can create your own sports show to talk sports and create content for yourself to work on building your demo reel and getting your face in front of other people. Don't be afraid to go take your phone and record a standup somewhere either. Even if people aren't watching, you are creating content you can use and are getting better with each and every rep.

I hope those of you who are reading this find what I have to say helpful, and I can't wait to read your own story of how you got your first gig, or your dream job in this industry.