Monday, February 25, 2008

When I Grow Up...

After graduating from college I was faced with the scary reality that it was time to get a job. Unsure of which direction or even which country I wanted to work in, I decided to put my career goals on hold and follow my heart – which has obviously led me to Europe. I don’t plan on playing basketball professionally for the rest of my life, but believe I will play 1-2 more years after this season is complete. With my season winding down I’ve been thinking about employment. Where do I want to work? What do I want to do? What kind of position am I looking for?

Entering university as a freshman I knew right away I wanted to major in Communications and Media. I’ve always had a passion for sports and loved the idea of reporting results while sharing my opinions, feeling and thoughts on competitions. I felt a Communication degree would lead me in the right direction to become a sports reporter/personality. I had always looked up to people like Michelle TaFoya, Doris Burke and most recently, Elise Woodward. I loved listening to these educated women on major television/radio networks discussing and analyzing basketball and football – not just women’s but men’s (NBA, NFL, NCAA and Olympics, etc.) Meeting Ann Meyers in Nashville put me over the top and I knew this was the career path I wanted to follow.

My degree helped, but it was more about the people and contacts I had made as a basketball player at the UW that helped land me jobs in this field. I always made time to chat with Steve Sandmeyer and Elise (UW women’s basketball radio broadcasters). They are great people who have become friends of mine. I’ve learned a lot from these two and respect them greatly. Elise Woodward is someone I truly admire. In my opinion, she has one of the best jobs in Seattle sports and deserves it. This is one hard working woman who knows her stuff.

In the spring 2007 I worked as a talent intern at Fox Sports Northwest where I interviewed pro athletes and coaches, worked on my on camera persona and learned how to speak to the audience rather than the camera. After finishing up at Fox, I accepted a summer job as a paid intern at Sports Radio 950 KJR. I thought my future was in TV, however after working at KJR I found that my passion lies in radio. I realized being behind a microphone instead of in front of a camera was more appealing. The radio atmosphere is fun, laid back and real. With radio you’re able to have a conversation with someone and don’t really have to deal with interviewees who are concerned about the way they look or what they sound like on television.

As my season comes to a close (2 more weeks!), I’m starting the job hunt. Ideally, I’d love to land back in Seattle working in something to do with sports/radio/marketing/PR, but being Canadian makes that very difficult. Not only will I have to apply for special visas, but a company has to be willing to take me on and sponsor me in a certain sector – it’s all very tedious and stupid. I live only 2 hours from Seattle!!! Hopefully something will work out. I love Seattle and the people I’ve developed relationships with there. Many of my close friends reside in the great state of Washington. If I am unsuccessful in receiving a visa and employment, it will back to Vancouver. This is not a bad thing, but being at home doesn’t provide me with many of the resources I need to train for next season. Plus I’ll be missing my wonderful friends. Any Seattleites out there want to hire an outgoing, hard-working, determined, UW alum? I’m open for suggestions and won’t disappoint!

-BW

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Two more weeks! Can i help with the job search? Probably not, but let me know.

Anonymous said...

Dub you are going to be great at whatever you do and wherever you do it! I would love to help any way I could...I may have some contacts in Portland too...you never know! Miss you girl :)

-KB