That’s Showbiz Baby
Growing up in the big city of Chicago, Stephanie always had a love for the entertainment world. She attended her first concert at the young age of 7, it was her favorite Disney singer, Hannah Montana. This was a huge deal for her. Stephanie was obsessed with the concept of becoming a singer, getting to play in front of thousands of people and being famous. When Stephanie grew up, she wanted to be a rockstar.
Throughout her younger years, when Stephanie wasn’t playing sports she was listening to music and dancing in her room pretending she was on stage. For her 10th birthday her parent’s bought her a karaoke set and Stephanie used it non stop. Her parents definitely regretted this choice because she was always singing at the top of her lungs throughout the house.
Once Stephanie got to middle school she realized one thing was going to stop her from being a rockstar, her voice. She was not, in fact, the best singer. Instead of practicing her sweet dance moves, she instead turned to practicing sports. Stephanie actually had a lot of talent in that field.
In a city like Chicago, you have plenty of great teams to root for. Stephanie and her older brother Jeff bonded by attending Blackhawks, Bears and White Sox games. She lived for the excitement of game day and see her favorite teams win.
In high school Stephanie was always a varsity player. Her height and athleticism made her a threat on the field and the court. Her heart was always in it and she fell in love with all things sports. Playing her last high school games and realizing it was all over was really hard on her. The friends she made on her teams and the growth she made throughout her years in sports she would never forget and was so thankful for. Sports truly shaped her into who she was.
Stephanie knew she was not good enough to go pro, but knew she could definitely make a career out of her love for athletics. She looked into sports business programs all over the country and found Arizona Sates to be the perfect fit.
She moved across the country from the windy city to the dry city. During her first week of college Stephanie went to a club fair which showcased all the clubs on campus. A student saw her Chicago Bears shirt and came up to her to talk about their love for Chicago sports teams. They got to talking and it turned out he was the president of a sports business lub on campus. This was exactly what she needed and he convinced her to join.
This club SBA gave Stephanie so many opportunities. They got to go on trips to the biggest sports markets in the country, talk with teams and learn about all the roles in the sports business field. With so many different routes she could take, Stephanie was confused on exactly what she wanted to do.
It wasn’t until SBA led Stephanie to an internship with ASU’s Sun Devil athletics. There, she aided in pulling off game day. This means planning, setting up, and managing all game day events. Pulling off game day operations is a lot of work but she enjoyed every moment of it.
With her love for show business and sports, Stephanie found exactly where she wanted to go with her life. She could combine the excitement and rush of the entertainment field she always wanted to be a part of, with the field she always new she belonged in (and on.)
Stephanie recently got an offer from The Arizona Diamondbacks to aid in game days and marketing. With a whopping 81 home games scheduled, she will surely be busy. But when you're getting to do something you love it really isn’t “work.” Upon graduation she will continue her role with the Diamondbacks until the season is over, and then search for a job with another sports team. One day she dreams of movie back to her big city of Chicago and working with one of her favorite teams there.
