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Cooper Hancock

2,145

Bold Points

1x

Finalist

Bio

I am a sophomore student at Arizona State University, majoring in Sports Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I work as a digital content creator for Arizona PBS, video editor for Continental Sports Podcast, and host "Trip Around The Bases," a LIVE baseball radio show on Blaze Radio Online. In my time at one of the top journalism schools in the country, I have acquired a variety of skills within the industry. These include proficiency in Adobe editing products like Premiere Pro and Audition, videography with various Canon cameras, and storytelling/reporting on sports. I am from Carlsbad, California, and attended Sage Creek High. During my time there, I was a very active student, serving as a Co-Sports Editor and Assistant Web-Editor-In-Chief for four years with The Sage Publication. I also produced content with articles and video packages and participated in various clubs like National Honors Society and Key Club. During my senior year, I founded a club called Sports Production Club, where students created sports podcasts. With my strong work ethic, eagerness, leadership abilities, and the skills I continue to learn at ASU, I aim to accomplish my goal of working as a Content Creator for a professional sports team's social media. However, I am open to any other opportunities that may arise.

Education

Arizona State University-Downtown Phoenix

Bachelor's degree program
2022 - 2026
  • Majors:
    • Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other
  • GPA:
    3.5

Sage Creek High

High School
2018 - 2022
  • GPA:
    3.8

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Bachelor's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Journalism
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Public Relations and Communications

    • Dream career goals:

      Sports journalist

    • Social Media Intern

      Sun Devil Athletics
      2024 – Present10 months
    • Digital Content Creator

      Arizona PBS
      2023 – Present1 year
    • Server Partner

      Islands Restaurants
      2021 – Present3 years
    • Lifeguard

      Premier Aquatics
      2019 – 20201 year
    • Order taker, Food Prep, accepting payments

      In n Out Burger
      2020 – Present4 years

    Sports

    Soccer

    Club
    2014 – Present10 years

    Awards

    • Team Captain
    • player of the game
    • defender of the season

    Baseball

    Junior Varsity
    2019 – 20201 year

    Soccer

    Junior Varsity
    2019 – 20201 year

    Research

    • Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness

      The Sage News — Producing articles for Sage Creek High school’s journalism program.
      2018 – Present

    Arts

    • Sage Creek High School

      Photography
      Sage Creek High School photography website
      2020 – 2020

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      LA Galaxy Soccer Club and Carlsbad Youth Baseball — Assist skills camps, assess players, coach teams, set up equipment, assist coaches, and provide a fun experience.
      2018 – 2021
    • Volunteering

      Sage Creek Athletics — Announcing Varsity Basketball and Soccer Games
      2021 – Present
    • Volunteering

      Humanity Showers — Organize clothes and dissemble area
      2021 – 2021
    • Volunteering

      Circle of Friends — Mentor
      2021 – 2021

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Jennifer Hartwig Scholarship
    As a lifelong athlete and sports fanatic, for as long as I could remember, I knew I wanted to go into sports as a career. Watching all 162 games of the New York Yankees has always been fun as a fan, but I soon realized I wanted to do more than just cheer on the sidelines or stands. When it came time to decide where to attend college, I knew it had to be Arizona State University. Their strong Sports Journalism program was irresistible. My experience so far at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Mass Communication and Journalism has been perfect. The amount of opportunities I have been able to take has made the decision to enroll even more fulfilling. Prior to my college education, I attended Sage Creek High School in Carlsbad, California. At Sage Creek, I was part of the Multimedia Journalism class for all four years of my high school career. During my freshman and sophomore years, I was a staff reporter. I wrote articles, created video packages for the program’s weekly broadcast, and anchored in these broadcasts. A majority of my content included school and professional sports. During my junior year, I became one of the Sports Section Editors. My responsibilities included editing and posting sports-related content from staff reporters onto our program’s website. During this time, I also continued creating my own content. In my senior year, I became one of the Web-Editors in chief. My responsibilities for this position included editing and publishing articles from every section of our program. I also maintained the website and helped maintain professionalism in the classroom. During these memorable four years, I have achievements to prove my hard work. For three of the four years, our website became a Sno-Distinguished site. To gain this title for your website, you must have strong content throughout the website, post consistently, and include various forms of media. During these three years, I played a large role in earning this title. So far as an ASU Sun Devil, I have made use of the opportunities provided to me. I have been a part of two sports media clubs, Walter Cronkite Sports Network and Inferno Intel. I have created video packages and online content for the ASU baseball, softball, and women’s soccer teams. I have also assisted in front of the camera and in the studio of both clubs’ weekly broadcasts. I hope to continue being a vital member of clubs on campus and furthering my journalism skills. I have also interned for The Wrightway Sports Network, a sports, news, and media site that provides fans with up-to-date content on all major sports. I have been a content creator who creates daily content for Major League Baseball. This content is posted on the TWSN YouTube channel in the form of videos and shorts. This internship has allowed me to become a master in the use of Premiere Pro, along with posting content on YouTube, X (previously Twitter), and TikTok. Along with my current position at Arizona PBS as a digital content creator, I am a social media intern for Sun Devil Athletics in which I attended multiple ASU sporting events weekly to assist in social media posting, more specifically Instagram stories. I also produce and edit Instagram reels for various teams. My goal is to become a content creator for a professional sports team, while providing an entertaining value to sports, bringing in a younger audience and growing the love of the sport that I possess.
    Bold Perseverance Scholarship
    One of the most difficult situations I ever had to persevere through was moving across the country. For eleven years I called Middletown, Rhode Island my home but in 2018, just before I was about to start my freshman year of high school, my family and I moved to Carlsbad, California. The reason behind this move was to pursue new opportunities and make new experiences. Even though, I looked forward to starting a new life in California, leaving friends and family in Rhode Island and going to a high school with not a single familiar face was definitely daunting. It did take some time but not too far into my freshman year, I had a set of really good friends. I continued playing the same sports I played in RI. I even tried some new things like joining my school's multimedia-journalism program, volunteering at youth sports camps, and getting my first job. Like my family and I wanted from the start, I made new experiences and I now have the opportunity to branch out and try new things that weren't available in RI. Moving is something almost every person dislikes, especially kids. Although, simply putting yourself out there and staying optimistic helped me adjust to the new setting and feel relief that a 3,000-mile move was worth it.
    Terry Crews "Creative Courage" Scholarship
    This link is to a video package that I created about the local Haunted Corn Maze in Carlsbad, California for Sage Creek High School's Multimedia Journalism program, The Sage. This is one of my favorite pieces of work that I've completed for the program. This is my fourth year in the program and I currently serve as one of the Web Editors in Chief. I started as a freshman who had no previous journalistic knowledge until I committed to journalism and mastered my skills. My responsibilities during my senior year in the program include editing and writing articles, producing video packages for our weekly show, and helping other staff reporters. My passion is to become a sports journalist in the future as I have a passion for reporting on sports. I aim to study Sports Journalism at Arizona State University, although the cost of out-of-state tuition currently is too high for my family. This scholarship will greatly help me continue my passion at one of the best journalism schools in the nation.
    FOS Sports Industry Professional Scholarship
    In the world of sports, I would like to become a Sports Journalist. I'm a current senior with a dream of interviewing my favorite players on the field or reporting in front of the camera for a high-end newsgroup. I look forward to seeing where the sports journalism industry takes me as I hope to study at Arizona State University, one of the top journalism schools in the nation. I'm excited to see my skills put to the test alongside many other journalism students. I understand that this industry is very competitive so I know to be flexible. I'm willing to take on any role that meets me on my way to ensure that I reach my final goal of becoming a Sports Journalist. This passion of mine was born during my freshman year of high school. Recently moved from Rhode Island to San Diego, California, I wanted to try something new. As I knew, I needed to start preparing for my future and weighing my career options. The only idea I had prior to this year was to go into the STEM field. Although, this idea fizzled out as I realized my math skills weren't to par. Sports, however, always came to my head. Sports have been one of the biggest things in my life for as long as I could remember as I've played both soccer and baseball and tried out basketball for a year. I'm that type of kid who would go all out in PE even in a game of dodgeball. Playing sports has always brought me joy, especially when I get to play with my friends. Although, I started to realize that I was not at the level to go professional or even play in college. Another idea was crossed off the list. I then, over time continued to think of things I enjoyed. One thing was making videos and talking in front of people. I always contributed in my classes and wasn't afraid to speak in front of a large crowd. Connecting these two ideas caused me to consider journalism. It was the perfect timing as I was choosing my classes for my freshman year of high school in a whole new part of the country. I selected the Multimedia Journalism class and then filled out the application to join. The rest was history. I had found my true passion after joining this program. Within the first few months of joining I had already had multiple articles published to the website and played multiple appearances on the weekly broadcast. Over the years I fine-tuned my article writing abilities and my storytelling skills. Going into my junior year I had decided to apply for an editor position. This position was the Sports Section Editor. During my junior year, I helped edit and publish articles and continue writing my own. I covered both school and professional sports. Then senior year came along and I wanted to have a higher role. I became the Assistant Web Editor in Chief. So far I've edited and published on the website for every section in the publication. I have also assisted the entirety of our staff. I had branched out and learned to cover more than just sports. During these four years that I've been part of "The Sage Publication", we've earned many awards including our website becoming "Sno Distinguished" during three of those years. From being a curious freshman to now a top editor as a senior, I know that I've officially found my passion. I want to become a Sports Journalist.
    Bold Perseverance Scholarship
    One of the most difficult situations I ever had to persevere through was moving across the country. For eleven years I called Middletown, Rhode Island my home but in 2018, just before I was about to start my freshman year of high school, my family and I moved to Carlsbad, California. The reason behind this move was to pursue new opportunities and make new experiences. Even though, I looked forward to starting a new life in California, leaving friends and family in Rhode Island and going to a high school with not a single familiar face was definitely daunting. It did take some time but not too far into my freshman year, I had a set of really good friends. I continued playing the same sports I played in RI. I even tried some new things like joining my school's multimedia-journalism program, volunteering at youth sports camps, and getting my first job. Like my family and I wanted from the start, I made new experiences and I now have the opportunity to branch out and try new things that weren't available in RI. Moving is something almost every person dislikes, especially kids. Although, simply putting yourself out there and staying optimistic helped me adjust to the new setting and feel relief that a 3,000-mile move was worth it.