ESU Learns to S.C.O.R.E.

By Melissa Valentovic

Staff Writer

The sports management department at ESU hosted their first S.C.O.R.E symposium on Oct. 27 for undergraduate and graduate students of sport, recreation and business management.

S.C.O.R.E consisted of two parts: keynote speeches given by ESU alumni Deanna Repollet and Brandon Lawrence followed by a networking reception.

A 2007 graduate of the major, Lawrence has stayed extremely involved at ESU as the active vice president of the alumni advisory board for the past year.

Lawrence’s speech at the symposium was comprised of three different segments. The first addressed the common misunderstandings of the field.

According to Lawrence, who is currently the director of premium partnerships at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, people do not always see what goes on behind the scenes.

In the second portion of his speech, he advised students that becoming successful actually “starts with networking amongst peers.”

Lawrence discussed that the last “piece of the puzzle” was how much of an impact an arena, sports venue or team can have on the economy of a city.

He used the city of Newark as an example, saying how much of an impact the Prudential Center has on the city.

Dr. Paula Parker played a key role in planning the event. She said the idea for the event came from ESU’s former athletic director Dr. Tom Gioglio, who came up with the idea over the summer.

Parker said the purpose of the event was to “bring some speakers in to give students some professional side of the field.”

“Let them learn from people who are actually working in sport management, rather than us just talking about it in the classroom.”

Parker said that networking is extremely important in the small world of sports. She says they “talk a lot about who knows you. It is who you know, but have you made yourself memorable for the right reasons?”

Seniors Sophie Coy and TJ Hester noticed how many students stayed after the keynote speeches for the networking session.

“The biggest thing I took away from is it is that it is an industry that you cannot be afraid. It is a growing industry still, and you want to take as many opportunities as you can moving forward,” said Hester.

Coy agreed and added that she feels that it is an industry in which “you need to be very personable.”

“What you have on paper matters, but if you … walk into an interview and can be personable, I think they might lean towards you more than the person who is more qualified than you.”

Email Melissa at: mvalentovi@live.esu.edu