Aspiring sport and recreation professionals had to go no further than the Iowa Memorial Union to explore career opportunities, discover how to achieve their dream job, and engage with individuals working in the industry to help them along their path. The Hawkeye Sport Business Association (HSBA) welcomed over forty industry pros to campus for the 8th annual UISRM Symposium on Monday, September 18.
Among the featured speakers was Tara Carsner, Founder of Hometeam LLC. Tara learned of the program and its ‘Student focused. Industry centered.’ mantra through previous NASCAR practicum students who connected with her via LinkedIn after learning of her work with Lyrical Lemonade. In her mainstage session, Tara highlighted the importance of relationships, hustle, and an unbelievable passion for what one aspires to achieve as a foundation for career success.
HSBA was also honored to deliver a ‘super panel’ featuring four successful women in sport and recreation. Kyra Kendrick (Women Leaders in Sports), Jenn Fraser (NCAA), Erin Mykleby (Stan Johnson & Associates), and Kayla Smith (NAIA) shared their paths in the industry, but also encouraged everyone in attendance to support and advance the careers of all under-represented individuals looking to succeed in sport and recreation. Furthermore, and to kick off the session, Dan Matheson, Program Director, announced a new partnership between UISRM and Women Leaders in Sports that will provide memberships to current undergraduate and graduate students.
Beyond the featured sessions highlighted above, attendees had the opportunity to learn of networking and interviewing best practices from Stephanie Rogers (Vegas Golden Knights) and AJ Gioglio (Arizona Diamondbacks). Attendees aiming to learn about different career paths could select from breakout discussions on topics such as revenue generation; marketing and social media; and event management to inform them of relevant volunteer and field experience worthy work opportunities. If that wasn’t enough, attendees had over one hour to interact one-on-one with professionals eager to support the next generation of sport and recreation professionals.
Special thanks to HSBA Event Management Special Interest Group leaders Hannah Frazier (ex. BS 2025) and Hugo Flores (ex. BS 2023) for their role in creating the experience for students. Their efforts provided a home-field advantage for all attendees. Lastly, thank you to the Russell B. Day and Florence D. Day Endowed Chair in CLAS, Graduate Iowa City, UI Health and Human Physiology, and the UISRM University of Iowa Center for Advancement donors for your financial and in-kind support of the UISRM Symposium.