Alyssa Ramirez

1. What made you want to get into the sports industry? When I was about 13 years old I was watching my brother play on a travel baseball team that was playing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, FL. While I was sitting in the crowd I saw someone from their organization hyping up the teams on the field for the opening ceremony, capturing videos for their social platforms, setting marketing material up for players and fans, and so much more. I turned and looked at my mom and said that’s what I’m going to do when I grow up. Long story short this is what sparked my passion in working in the sports industry.

2. What is your favorite sport? Favorite sports teams? Growing up my favorite sport to watch was baseball. I loved the atmosphere whenever going to the game or even just watching the game on TV with my Dad and Grandpa. My favorite sports teams are the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls, and the Chicago Bears.

3. What job would you like to have in 5 years? A job that I would like to have in 5 years is a job within the sports and entertainment industry that will always teach me something new on a daily basis because you can never be done learning.

4. What is your dream job? What’s your next job? My dream job is a position that lets me grow within an organization that I’m able to work with fans to enhance their experience at an event.

5. What is a unique trait that you bring to our team? I’m driven to complete a task, no matter how little or large the task is I will always try my 100% to do the best I can. I like excelling and pushing myself to be the best I can be.

6. What is your biggest sport business accomplishment so far? Besides being accepted into the Living Sports program, I would have to say that my biggest sport business accomplishment is my decision to transfer universities to live in Indianapolis and pursue a degree in Sport Management. Since this decision I have had the opportunity to work or volunteer all levels from youth, nonprofit, collegiate, to professional level teams in various departments. But the most recent experience was being a part of the events team that hosted the whole March Madness and Final Four in Indianapolis all the way from the beginning of the planning stage to post event!

7. What do you hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program? Something I hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program is connections and relationships throughout the industry all over the world.

8. Favorite city or country you have visited? My favorite city is probably Orlando, FL. I’m a huge Disney fan and have so many memories there with my family. Florida is also the place that sparked my passion for working in the sports industry.

9. What’s a hobby, a fun fact about you, or hidden talent you may have? One of my hobbies is photography. I love taking pictures. I just believe photos capture a moment that you will remember forever.

10. What college do/did you attend? What was your Major? What city do you reside in currently? I attended IUPUI, Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis. I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Tourism, Events, and Sports Management. I’m a Sports Management Major with a Business Foundations Certificate from the Kelley School of Business. I currently live in Downtown Indianapolis but my home town is Gurnee, IL which is a north suburb of Chicago.

james Bricker

1. What made you want to get into the sports industry? I want to get into the sports industry because I want to be interested in my work. For a while I have racked my brain trying to determine a passion to pursuefor a career and then started asking what I like to do just in my free time, and how can I make that a job. Because I spend so much of my free time paying attention to sports, I wanted to explore a career in the sports industry.

2. What is your favorite sport? Favorite sports teams? My favorite sport is hard to pick but probably football. My team is the Patriots thanks to my family from Massachusetts adopting me to their fan base as a little kid.

3. What job would you like to have in 5 years? I cannot say what exact job I want to have, but one that I am happy in.

4. What is your dream job? What’s your next job? Again, I don’t really know that specifically what job I’d like most which is why I am eager to learn about the many different careers there are within sports.But I think being a part of a championship winning team in any capacity would be an incredible feeling. And I know that can look like a million different ways.

5. What is a unique trait that you bring to our team? I feel I have an ability to excellently navigate any social or social/professional situation.

6. What is your biggest sport business accomplishment so far? I have not gotten any work experience in sports YET.

7. What do you hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program? I hope to gain knowledge on various career paths within the sports industry. I hope to begin building a network with professionals already in the industry and those looking to get into it. I also hope to leave better equipped to get a job in sports. I of course hope to have a great time taking in Athens as well.

8. Favorite city or country you have visited? Barcelona is probably my favorite city I’ve visited.

9. What’s a hobby, a fun fact about you, or hidden talent you may have? I love getting super into random hobbies for about a month or two then getting distracted with a new one that I get more into. Right now bowling is my thing.

10. What college did you attend? What was your Major? What city do you reside in currently? I will be entering my fifth year at University of Utah come fall. My major is economics and I live in Salt Lake City most of the year while at school but am currently back home in Pelham, NY for summer.

Jason Leal

1. What made you want to get into the sports industry? I’ve played sports I was 5 years old and have always loved them. As a young kid, it was because I was able to make new friends and have fun playing with them. As I grew into my teenage years and games started to become a little more serious, I enjoyed it because only the ones who wanted to win were willing to put in the extra effort. As a young adult, I still enjoy being in that exciting and fun atmosphere of sports. I enjoy the unity that sports bring out in people while still bringing out the competitiveness in everyone. Since I can no longer play them, I might as well work for them!

2. What is your favorite sport? Favorite sports teams? Coming from Texas, my favorite sport is definitely football. I grew up loving it and everyone around did as well. My favorite team in the NFL is the New Orleans Saints, mainly because I am a huge Drew Brees fan (he is a Texas native as well).

3. What job would you like to have in 5 years? In 5 years I would love to work team operations for any team in the NFL.

4. What is your dream job? What’s your next job? My dream job was to be a professional football player. Who wouldn’t want to get paid to play the sport they love? Unfortunately, after reality sets in, that’s not a goal everyone can achieve, so working alongside any team would be just as good. My next job is still unknown. I like to take advantage as opportunities are presented to me.

5. What is a unique trait that you bring to our team? Something unique about me is that I am a first generation graduate from college. I know I am probably not the only one on this team that is, but I know I have not met a whole lot in my past. I’ve also traveled a lot for work and this internship so that is stuff that is also new to my family and I am enjoying being a part of it all.

6. What is your biggest sport business accomplishment so far? My biggest accomplishment so far is working my way up into the position I am for work. I work for a food and beverage company that handles premium areas and concessions in large venues and stadiums. I started at small supervisor role for game days at Kyle Field (Texas A&M). In less than a year and a half I have worked my way up to a Premium Manager and have traveled to 7 different stadiums including Super Bowl LIII and my current home stadium, Huntington Park in Columbus, OH.

7. What do you hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program? Through this program, I would love to gain operations experience and knowledge as well as network with people in the industry. On top of that I would like to gain friendships and memories that could last a lifetime.

8. Favorite city or country you have visited? My favorite city I’ve visited would have to be either Orlando, FL or Cabo, Mexico. I can recall having the most fun in those two cities.

9. What’s a hobby, a fun fact about you, or hidden talent you may have? A fun fact about me is that this will be my first time in Europe and only my second outside of the country. I am looking forward to great experience!

10. What college do/did you attend? What was your Major? What city do you reside in currently? I attended Texas A&M University and graduated in May of 2019 (WHOOP!) and majored in Sport Management. After living in College Station, TX (home of A&M) for about 8 months after graduation, I now live in Columbus, OH.

kacey Whalen

1. What made you want to get into the sports industry? I’ve always been really interested in the ways that sports influence our culture, even for the spectators who have never played a game themselves or people who don’t follow them at all. How professional sports teams impact the communities they’re based in—especially when those communities are so different from the teams and their fans—has always been something I’m curious about. For that reason, I want to work in the intersection between community relations and sports teams.

2. What is your favorite sport? Favorite sports teams? My favorite sport is definitely hockey and I’m a Red Wings fan! Having lived in Chicago for 10 years, I also follow the Cubs—you couldn’t live here when they broke the curse and not like them a little bit. One of the friends also got me really into the Kansas City Chiefs, soI’m just a fan of a weird mix of teams.

3. What job would you like to have in 5 years? In five years, I would love to be working full time for a professional team in their community relationships department, maybe doing some type of foundational work for teams or players.

4. What is your dream job? What’s your next job? I feel like my dream job changes quite frequently, but this program has got me thinking a lot about working in international sports which I hadn’t really considered before. My next job would be a longer internship, preferably in the realm of community relations with a professional team.

5. What is a unique trait that you bring to our team? I like to think that I’m a great listener! My current job has taught me a lot about working with people from all walks of life and to have creative problem-solving.

6. What is your biggest sport business accomplishment so far? I’m just starting out on my sports journey, but I feel proud about how far I’ve come in my master’s program, especially since I started and completed most of my classes during this difficult year.

7. What do you hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program? Besides just having a great experience, I’m hoping to have something that makes my resume stand out a little more as I’m applying for various different positions in the sports world.I also want to see how an event like this impacts the local area in Greece.

8. Favorite city or country you have visited? I loved the atmosphere in Barcelona, but Florence is my #1 city to revisit!

9. What’s a hobby, a fun fact about you, or hidden talent you may have? A fun fact about me is that I used to compete in dog shows when I was younger.

10. What college do/did you attend? What was your Major? What city do you reside in currently? I went to DePaul University for my BA in English and I still live in Chicago. I’m currently enrolled in Wayne State’s online Sports Administration MA program.

zaire Hariston

1. What made you want to get into the sports industry? What pushed me in getting into the sports industry, is baseball. As long as I could remember I played baseball. But as I got older I learned that sports, in general, have many different aspects other than playing. So I wanted to explore these different avenues.

2. What is your favorite sport? Favorite sports teams? My favorite sport is baseball, I don’t have a favorite sports team.

3. What job would you like to have in 5 years? In the next five years, I would like to become a physical therapist.

4. What is your dream job? What’s your next job? My dream job is to be a trainer for baseball players and have my own facility.

5. What is a unique trait that you bring to our team? One unique trait that I bring to the team is the ability to bring a warm and fun feeling to many different situations.

6. What is your biggest sport business accomplishment so far? As of right now, I don’t have any sports business accomplishments.

7. What do you hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program? What I hope to gain through Living Sport is making more meaningful connections with different people. Another thing that I hope to gain from Living sport is to expand my horizon

8. Favorite city or country you have visited? My favorite city that I have visited is Chicago.

9. What’s a hobby, a fun fact about you, or hidden talent you may have? I have two main hobbies they are listening to music and reading.

10. What college do/did you attend? What was your Major? What city do you reside in currently? I attend Lincoln University. My major is Health Science. I live in New York City.

Kevin Scully

1. What made you want to get into the sports industry? I want to work in a field that I am passionate about. Growing up,I was a season-to-season athlete. So sports have always been something I gravitated towards because it taught me the values o fhard work, discipline, team work, and learning how to bounce back from a “loss”. It’s a field I see myself in for the long haul. It will help me grow career wise and individually.

2. What is your favorite sport? Favorite sports teams? I don’t know if I necessarily have one favorite sport. I like football, soccer, basketball, hockey, tennis, and baseball. Some of my favorite teams include: FC Barcelona, Liverpool FC, Michigan State Men’s Basketball Team, NJ Devils, NY Giants, NY Knicks, and the NY Yankees.

3. What job would you like to have in 5 years? I’d like to be a consultant for the front office of a professional sports team.

4. What is your dream job? What’s your next job? My dream job would be manager of a professional sports team. My next job will be in the sports industry field working as a statistician of player analyst. Something where I can apply my math background and get my foot in the door.

5. What is a unique trait that you bring to our team? My unique trait is possibly being the oldest attendee and having experience in the corporate industry. Even though it isn’t the sports industry, I know how to work in a team to reach a common goal in a professional setting.

6. What is your biggest sport business accomplishment so far? Being accepted into Living Sport. I believe this will be the first step in the right direction of a successful and fulfilling career.

7. What do you hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program? Networking with individuals who work in this field in order to help me land a job in this field.

8. Favorite city or country you have visited? Favorite country I’ve ever visited was Australia. Favorite city was Barcelona.

9. What’s a hobby, a fun fact about you, or hidden talent you may have? Hidden Talent/Hobby is playing the piano. Not great, but I can play a couple songs from popular bands.

10. What college do/did you attend? What was your Major? What city do you reside in currently? I attended Michigan State University, my major was in Mathematics, and I reside in Franklin Park, NJ.

Chase Hamilton

1. What made you want to get into the sports industry? Sports have been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. There hasn’t been a point in my life where I wasn’t actively involved in a sport. I believe sports bring out the best in people. It is both a platform for competitiveness as well as leadership and teamwork.

2. What is your favorite sport? Favorite sports teams? Growing up I played football, baseball, and basketball. Although I enjoyed them, Tennis is where I truly felt like I could get everything out of a sport that I wanted. Being from the Atlanta area, I am a homer for the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and United.

3. What job would you like to have in 5 years? I would like to work with player operations for the ATP.

4. What is your dream job? What’s your next job? My dream job is to open my own tennis academy. My next job will hopefully be something involved in the tennis world.

5. What is a unique trait that you bring to our team? I’ve been working in groups/team my entire life. Having coached for multiple years, I am very comfortable with working in a group setting and being able to have many people come together for a common goal.

6. What is your biggest sport business accomplishment so far? Helping create a run a charity tennis tournament was the most rewarding thing I have done in the sports world. So far.

7. What do you hope to gain through the International Sport Business Program? I want to see how sports are handled outside of the States. I want to learn about what aspects of events are valued more than others and how they operate at different levels.

8. Favorite city or country you have visited? New York City is my favorite city. I believe it is a place that homes people of every walk of life. This diversity helps make it feel like its own world.

9. What’s a hobby, a fun fact about you, or hidden talent you may have? I can juggle (kind of).

10. What college do/did you attend? What was your Major? What city do you reside in currently? Currently attend the University of Georgia. I am a Sports Management major and I am currently living in Athens (Georgia, not Greece).