I finally moved in. After finishing
up my Master’s degree on Friday, I began a hectic, exhausting, but very exciting
trek across the Atlantic Ocean. I began my journey in Cambridge, where I took a
three hour bus ride into Heathrow Airport in London. I then took a quick flight to pop over to Schiphol Airport
in Amsterdam. After a hefty delay in Amsterdam, I finally boarded my ten
hour flight against the jet stream over to Dallas-Fort Worth. The flight was
long, and I couldn’t get a moment of sleep because I was too excited for what
was to come. My mind was running through all of the scenarios of what I could
expect at my first day at work, and although I was exhausted, I couldn’t think about
anything else.
I finally arrived in Dallas, and
was ready to make a quick turnaround that night to head to the best city in the
world—New York.
Once arriving in Manhattan, I lugged
my bags on the subway over to my dorm at West 20th Street and 8th
Avenue. It’s a beautiful area, and I was more than ready to move in and settle
down in my new home.
I soon found out when checking in
at the front desk, that I was sharing a suite with six other guys in the program,
and at first I was a little hesitant. I hadn’t lived in a dorm for years,
and I wasn’t sure how I would adjust into the environment.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. I was
able to meet all the other guys in my suite, all participants in the MSBA program, and
exchanged the usual introductions. After a little small talk, they immediately
caught me up on what I had missed in the program. They were all so excited in
telling me about the stories from the program’s events, which in turn just made
me even more excited. Before I knew it, we
were watching the NBA Finals in our suite together and I felt a great connection
with everyone. I felt as if I had hit the ground running. With a core group of
friends and colleagues, I didn’t feel so overwhelmed coming to New York City. Then,
after a long night, I finally dozed off excited to start my internship at Leverage
Agency the next morning.
In the
morning I was nervous, yet eager, to head to the office. My mind was, once again, running through all
of the scenarios of what to expect on my first day. My MSBA colleagues gave me a
quick tour of the office and introduced me to everyone at Leverage to help with
the transition. After meeting everyone, I spent the day working alongside
the Leverage CEO and Owner, Ben Sturner.
Ben allowed
me to immediately start working on some highly notable projects. I am currently
working on the Top Rank Boxing account, and since boxing is a huge passion of
mine, I couldn’t ask for a more exciting project. I am also concurrently working
on a unique event known as the “Rivalry Run” between USC & UCLA in Southern
California. Since I went to the University of Southern California, working with
the Leverage LA team was another cool project that fit right up my avenue.
Throughout
the day, Ben allowed me to sit in on some amazing business calls with the
likes of Leonard Armato- a pioneer in this field- and Hall-of-Fame running
back Curtis Martin. I really couldn’t have asked for much more.
After
my first day in the program, I already reaffirmed what I want to do in life.
After struggling night after night throughout my University years trying to
network, gather contacts, and exchange a simple email with players in this sports
industry, the MSBA program has already provided me an exponential amount of
information. I felt that I finally broke into an industry that I was
never really sure that I could have
The MSBA
program, in a couple of days, has already surpassed all of my expectations and
scenarios that ran through my mind these past few months. There’s nothing
like being surrounded by people that share that passion and drive you have—it only
pushes you harder and gets you more excited. I have the confidence now that I
will thrive and succeed in this industry. This is where I want to be, and I
have MSBA to thank for it.
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