Day one of the Career in Sport Forum (CSF) was an exciting and memorable experience. Mike and I joined 198 other campers from across the country and were welcomed by our emcee, Ahmad Boyd, whose energy and enthusiasm helped create a positive atmosphere. One of the main speakers, Justin Patton, taught us about the importance of listening and building strong relationships. He explained that true listening means being fully present and engaged in conversations. One interesting point he shared was that a person’s feet can show how attentive they are—feet facing the speaker often indicate interest and focus.

Justin also spoke about emotional intelligence and the value of being aware of our emotions. He shared messages such as, “It’s hard to connect when you’re not in tune with your emotions,” which encouraged us to think about how authenticity helps build meaningful relationships. Later, campers were divided into smaller campsite groups for discussions and leadership activities. Mike joined the Orange group, while I was placed in the Green group. During our first session, we reflected on our strengths and weaknesses as leaders and identified ways to improve. Overall, the first day taught us the importance of communication, self-awareness, and leadership, providing a strong foundation for the rest of the forum.

Day two focused on networking and learning how to confidently connect with new people. We started the day in our campsite groups by participating in mock networking sessions, where we practiced introducing ourselves, asking questions, and having meaningful conversations. Later, we combined with other groups and repeated the activity with even more people, which helped prepare us for a real networking event. In the afternoon, we met with about 60 sports industry professionals from different organizations and career fields. Mike and I both had successful conversations, collected several business cards, and made valuable connections with professionals whose careers matched our interests.

After lunch, we attended panels featuring professionals from areas such as professional sports teams, the NBA, the NFL, and internal and external relations. These discussions gave us insight into the many career opportunities available in sports. One of the biggest lessons from the day was that working in sports often requires personal sacrifices, including missing holidays and family events. Another important takeaway was that people may not always remember your name, but they will remember how you made them feel. By the end of the day, we had strengthened our networking skills and gained a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in the sports industry.

Day three was all about growth and building confidence for our career journey. Samantha Card was our opening keynote speaker and she told us about her impressive career journey. The main takeaway that I had from her speech was how important it is to believe in yourself. There is no need to fear the unknown because you never know if you can do something until you try it. Then, we went to our fourth career campsite where we started to focus on what our strengths are. We also did an activity that made us realize who are the most important people in our lives. These were great lessons that will help to improve my skills in future careers.

After lunch we broke out into a session led by Steve Davis JR where he had us imagine different forms of our life. He made us think about what we would focus on if things like money were not a factor in life. It really opened our eyes into realizing what passions we all truly possess. The work concluded with Felicia Martin speaking to us about the importance of being ourselves. After that we grabbed dinner and then got to go to the Indianapolis Indians minor league baseball game!

Our final day began with a speech from Dr. Lacee Camron-Johnson, who is the director of Basketball Advancement with the Tornonto Raptors. She gave us great insight on her career path and tips on how to navigate our future jobs. We then went to our final career campsite where we wrapped up and summarized all of our lessons. The forum ended with our final keynote speaker, Jonathan Sprinkles, who instilled the importance of self love and confidence into our lives. It was a very engaging and passionate speech. This was only a half day and we were dismissed to fly home once it ended.

This was an unbelievable experience that both of us will never forget. We made so many incredible memories and certainly improved our career skills. Between the other campers, the councilors, and the speakers; there were so many unbelievable conversations and connections that we made. Some of the friendships will last a lifetime. The entire event really improved our abilities to communicate, while also giving us a more clear path into where we want our careers to go. These four days certainly exceeded expectations and the NCAA delivered a fantastic event. It was an honor representing Dickinson!