When I signed my National Letter of Intent to play Baseball at James Madison University, I had one goal in mind and everything else was in hindsight. So many great things can be said about my time as a JMU baseball player and if I could repeat my experience I don’t think I would change a thing. My freshman year I had the opportunity to start 35 of the 46 games that I appeared in, and I was a part of a team that made it to the CAA playoffs for the first time in 4 years. The work that I put in and the obstacles that I had to overcome early in my athletic career taught me lessons that are more than valuable. 

Being on the outside of it now, baseball wasn’t for me. I had always felt that baseball kept me in a box, but the mental skills that I learned and pressure situations that I was put in at the college level were incomparable to any other sport that I could have played, and I am blessed to say that these situations directly translate for me in the business world. 


 

Communication studies major

Entrepreneurship Minor

 

When I made my transition out of baseball there were a lot of adjustments that needed to take place because it was the first time in a long time where sports was not a priority in my life. I began to focus on what actually mattered and wanted to take advantage of being at a school like JMU on the educational side. I did a complete 180 in my junior year and switched my major to Communication Studies. Now, a senior at JMU and being accepted into the entrepreneurship minor, for the first time in my life I actually enjoy school. Within my new major I have taken classes like “Presentational Speaking”, “Entrepreneurship and small business management”, and “Business and Professional Communication” which are just a few of my favorite classes that have given me a chance to improve on some of my natural skills, as well as teach me new ones that I intend to implement every day. 

 

Implementation

Implementation and application is what separates education. More recently, my team and I did our own Shark Tank Presentation, which was a month-long process of evaluating 5 different companies where we pitched our class, teacher and investors on why or why not you should invest in a company. Extensive internal and external research on factors that played a role such as ROI, margins, SWOT analysis, and individual growth potential just to name a few.

Application

Facilitating Public and Organizational Engagement Processes is another class that I have taken that has given me practice understanding the skills and habits to keep in mind when collaborating with other businesses or professionals, as well as how to address challenges within an organization that needs change. I got the chance to practice these skills, and tackled the need for affordable housing for low income individuals within Harrisonburg Virginia. We met with non-profit and for-profit builders, lawyers, and the head of the realty association. 

Resume and how it relates

 

  • Attached is my resume, which further shows how my education relates to my work.