My ideal career in sports is working in community relations. I believe that it's an important career because it combines sports teams and athletes with their communities. Whether it's through donations, or other acts of service, I believe these departments are vital to running college athletics or professional leagues and teams. To succeed in that sort of field, I think you need to be a cooperative team player. Typically, large-scale events or drives require lots of arms and legs from lots of different departments. Not only would you need to cooperate within your own, but you would need to work with other departments to help advertise events or drives and help in capturing these events. I think another important skill is to be understanding. In this type of work, I believe you're subject to lots of ups and downs. Whether it's a community partner unable to attend an event or something completely falling through, I think it's important in a role like this to not like these things affect you. This school year, I accepted an internship position within the Engagement and Community Outreach department in my school's athletics department. Through this position, I have led many initiatives and drives that have helped bring our athletics department closer to our community. In my first year, I led an initiative that brought patients from the local children's hospital to all of our home football games. We provide them with great seats, snacks and food and the opportunity to meet our mascot, as well as some student athletes. Through this initiative, I have faced many hardships but have also had lots of success. This is why I believe being understanding is an important part of a role in this type of department. Learning that I cannot control everything has made the job so much easier. While I think college sports and professional sports are much different, I truly believe that my internship has given me the experience to be successful in this line of work. I also work with a team of 4 other interns. We collaborate on events, drives and working in the office. I believe teamwork has also been an integral part to my internship. Having others to help me has made this process very smooth. That is why I believe teamwork is such a huge part of this type of work. I also have a boss, and the help of a current fellow who was once an intern. Overall, I think I am capable of excelling in my future career of community relations within sports.

I'm Jordyn Hawkins, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I'm originally from Milwaukee. I decided to major in journalism because I have always wanted to be the voice that connects sports teams or players to their communities and fans. While I am not pursuing a career in journalism specifically, I still believe that sports are an amazing way to make a positive impact on my community. This year, I accepted an internship position that connects our athletic department with the community of Madison. Through the internship, I've been able to help bring smiles and foster connections to hospital patients, elementary school kids and more community members. Through this experience, I've learned so much and have become much more humble, and appreciative. One of my favorite experiences thus far is one of our initiatives that allows student athletes the opportunity to read to 2nd graders at public schools throughout Madison. The student athletes are specifically brought to schools that serve diverse students from lower incomes, some are even homeless or don't speak English. Seeing the student athletes engage with the young students is why I believe sports are so important to helping shape communities. With this initiative, we also allow the young students to ask the student athletes questions about their sport, college or anything else their little minds come up with. I love that through this, we're able to bridge a gap that in many communities is a huge gap. College student athletes are real, approachable people and many enjoy the opportunity to give back to their communities as well. After every session, we take a group photo to commemorate the moment. In one particular session, one that truly warms my heart, a young student began to cry as the student athletes were preparing to leave. This made the whole initiative, and my internship as a whole, feel real to me. While I am just a small part of the experience, the kid's tears showed me that what we were doing is meaningful and important. The books that we bring are also interactive, and allow the students and student athletes to have meaningful conversations. It asks questions about dreams and feelings, things that help produce some of the most fun or interesting conversations. The best part overall is that the students are then able to keep the books afterwords, and trade bookmarks with their classmates. I think this specific instance of service has shown me that any act of service is meaningful regardless of how big or small. In collaboration with the school district, I believe we have made the lives of many young students.

My name is Jordyn Hawkins, and I am from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison and want to pursue journalism, with a certificate in sports communication. I have always loved sports for a long time, and have always loved writing. Although I love my current career goals, this is not what I always wanted to pursue. For the longest time, I wanted to study political science, with hopes of eventually becoming a lawyer. I specifically wanted to focus on family law, and deal with things like divorce and child support. That was a dream of mine for a long time, but after a while, my dreams started to change. In a day where social media is so prevalent, I figured a career in the media could be more promising for me. The main reason I had previously wanted to study law and become a family lawyer was because of my own experiences. My parents had gone through a divorce, and it was one of the most challenging things in my life. I was so young, and never understood what it meant. At one point, I slipped into a depressive episode in 4th grade. I completely stopped trying in school and would pretend to be sick to go to the nurse's office. I would do this to get out of presentations or projects. It was a tough time for me, and I even gained a large amount of weight. I wanted to become a family lawyer because I wanted to help make the process so much smoother for families, not just the two parents. From that experience and my experiences still to this day, I have learned that it is okay to feel emotions. I had kept my emotions bottled up inside for so long because I was so confused. I never realized how many people in my life truly cared for me and wanted to see me succeed. Knowing that there are so many people that want me to succeed, no matter the career choice, has kept me going. I have learned to lean on and trust the people closest to me. The more I bottle things up, the worse I make it for myself in the end. I am also trying my best to reciprocate the love and care I receive. I want my friends and family to feel as appreciated as they always make me feel.

One of the hardest things I have ever faced in life was going through my parents' divorce. I was about 6 or 7 years old, so I didn't understand what was going on. As I grew up, I started to understand divorce more, and I struggled more with accepting it. Around the age of 8, when I was in 4th grade, I slipped into a depressive episode. I would rarely do my homework, and lie about it, I would pretend to be sick, and go to the nurse's office. I also gained a substantial amount of weight. For a kid that usually loved school, it was weird for me to suddenly lose interest. After a while, my parents and teachers noticed and wanted to talk to me about it. A teacher that also had divorced parents talked to me about it, and I think hearing her perspective helped me the most. While my parents' divorce didn't have anything to do with me, it has impacted many of my relationships, friendships and romantic. After I realized how my life at such a young age had spiraled, I decided to do something about it. One thing in my life that constantly made me happy was dance, so I used it as an outlet for my emotions. I also learned that it's okay to ask for help. I let so many feelings become a burden that it completely crushed me. Now I know that there are people that are always going to support me, and I don't have to handle everything myself. While it's not always easy for me to ask for help, I know that help is there for me, and it makes me feel a lot better. Seeing my parents' relationship end was hard for me and made me think about a lot of relationships I got myself into. I had a huge fear of unhappiness. No matter what, I was always scared something bad would happen to me. I had to learn and accept that I am not my parents, and that my fate is going to be different. I couldn't keep living my life scared of making friendships, or other relationships because I was scared they would end. Although I have accepted that my life is different, sometimes I still get negative thoughts. I have learned that I am not alone in many of my feelings and experiences. Many kids and teens sit and watch their parents go through a divorce. Growing up, it was always good for me to talk to my friends that were in a similar situation. I think that I need to be in environments where I can talk with people about my feelings, and not be judged. I always like an outside opinion because there are so many things that I do not know, and will never know.

For as long as I can remember, my dad was always watching sports around me. He loved the Boston Celtics and the Rams, who played in St. Louis at the time. I also grew up watching him coach high school football in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As my younger brother grew up, he began playing many sports. He played baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. Now at 16, he plays football, basketball, and runs and jumps for track. While I'm not the most athletic, I've picked up a fair understanding of the sports that have consumed my life for so long. My dad and I bond over sports because we like the same teams. As a fan of the Boston Celtics, I felt it was important to indulge myself in the franchise's history whenever I was given the chance. I love documentaries about the Celtics and Lakers' rivalry. Watching sports, and learning history has helped me gain knowledge, and be able to form my own opinions regarding sports. Before I wanted to pursue sports, I was interested in law because I felt like I was an opinionated person, and I could always back my opinion with reason. I don't necessarily feel like it's the job for me now, and lately, I have found other ways I can express my opinion, specifically my opinion on sports. I like talking to my friends and my brother about our opinions on sports. Some things may lead to arguments, but I always like to use facts in what I state. In recent years, there has been a surge of women in sports, including women of color, like myself. Seeing people like Taylor Rooks and Malika Andrews succeed has given me the hope and inspiration I needed to try and pursue a career in sports. I hope to one day be like them and have the opportunity to speak on sports and show my knowledge of sports. It's not very common for women to have jobs in sports, let alone black women. In my sports career, I would empower women by showing them jobs like this are possible if you want them to be. I wish to be an inspiration to little girls who enjoy sports like I did when I was younger. No girl should feel as though she can't do a certain job because she is a woman. Where I'm from, not many people feel like they can achieve their goals, so I want to show my Milwaukee community, especially the girls, that anything is possible.

For as long as I can remember, my dad was always watching sports around me. He loved the Boston Celtics and the Rams, who played in St. Louis at the time. I also grew up watching him coach high school football in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As my younger brother grew up, he began playing many sports. He played baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. Now at 16, he plays football, basketball, and runs and jumps for track. While I'm not the most athletic, I've picked up a fair understanding of the sports that have consumed my life for so long. My dad and I bond over sports because we like the same teams. As a fan of the Boston Celtics, I felt it was important to indulge myself in the franchise's history whenever I was given the chance. I love documentaries about the Celtics and Lakers' rivalry. Watching sports, and learning history has helped me gain knowledge, and be able to form my own opinions regarding sports. Before I wanted to pursue sports, I was interested in law because I felt like I was an opinionated person, and I could always back my opinion with reason. I don't necessarily feel like it's the job for me now, and lately, I have found other ways I can express my opinion, specifically my opinion on sports. I like talking to my friends and my brother about our opinions on sports. Some things may lead to arguments, but I always like to use facts in what I state. In recent years, there has been a surge of women in sports, including women of color, like myself. Seeing people like Taylor Rooks and Malika Andrews succeed has given me the hope and inspiration I needed to try and pursue a career in sports. I hope to one day be like them and have the opportunity to speak on sports and show my knowledge of sports. It's not very common for women to have jobs in sports, let alone black women. In my sports career, I would empower women by showing them jobs like this are possible if you want them to be. I wish to be an inspiration to little girls who enjoy sports like I did when I was younger. No girl should feel as though she can't do a certain job because she is a woman. Where I'm from, not many people feel like they can achieve their goals, so I want to show my Milwaukee community, especially the girls, that anything is possible.

While divorce is a tough, and hard topic to talk about for many, it’s something that has helped me, and even guided me into what career I want in the future. Going through my parents divorce at such a young age has taught me a lot, and given me a perspective on the process. With my education, I want to ensure the best for all families and children that may end up going through the same process. I have hopes of becoming a family lawyer in the future. While my parents divorce had a lot of negative effects on me, I’m glad I was able to come out strong with something positive. When I was younger, I became very sad due to my parents’ divorce. I would slack off in school, and lie. It also caused me to pick up and overeating habit, and I eventually gained a lot of weight. This was years after the divorce, but for some reason, as I was older, I started to understand the divorce more. Even to this day, I am still learning details as to what truly happened. The best piece of advice that helped and still helps me overcome these feelings is that, the divorce never had anything to do with me. My parents did what was best for their relationship, and it had nothing to do with how they felt about me. I know they love me regardless. Today, I am a better student, and have become better at getting through my hard times. I’ve learned to move past the divorce, and use the emotions to strengthen myself. I want to study Political Science in hopes to become a lawyer. I have picked up better study habits, and am better at taking care of myself when I do feel overwhelmed with emotions. Coming from a community that is predominantly Black and African American, I know that there are stereotypes regarding Black families. I want to help families in my community break through the stereotypes. People believe that Black kids don’t have fathers, or a parent has to pay child support. I think these stereotypes are unfair, and come from a racist perspective. I want to work with families, and put the children’s first. Things like this are often hardest on the children, and that’s something that is often overlooked. Although the parents may not like the outcome, I believe they’ll be happy knowing the children are happy with the outcome.