On March 30th, Leilani Brown and Sydney Jones along with Sport Management’s professor Kourmoulis started their adventure to the NCAA College Basketball Men’s Final Four. We arrived in Houston and made our way to check in, grabbed our gear for our upcoming shifts, then headed to a Coaches Wives Banquet. Through friends of Sydney Jones we were invited to this event for their community. Almost as soon as we walked in the door we were invited to sit with Mrs. Kelly Michalski, who is a prominent member of Athletes in Action. It was definitely God’s work that we were brought over to her table! We had fabulous conversations about sports and life from her perspective. Eventually the chatting led to being recruited for another volunteer opportunity that coming Saturday of the tournament with Athlete in Action’s John Wooden Keys To Life Breakfast.
The next day, we set out for our first shift with the NCAA. Our job was to direct guests to the entrance of the stadium and answer any questions. Before getting to our posts we got to experience what it was like to host volunteers. We had the ‘Street Team’ position for two separate shifts, once for the first two open practices and then for the semi-final game between FSU and San Diego.
Another shift we did was ‘Green Team’. There we went around the concert venue making sure that the area was clean for the guests. We learned about the effects of different performers, the importance of timing and place, and connected with other students.
The consensus for our favorite and most fun shift was the Dribble. While we were there we got to hand out basketballs to hundreds of kids who then dribbled about a mile path. This exemplified what sports is all about: bringing people together to have fun!
Lastly, we also went to Rice university, one of the host schools for the Final Four. There we met with Ryan Hall, Conor Glenn, and Coach Marco Regalado. They took us on a private facility tour and had an extensive Q&A session with professionals in our field of interest. Their kindness to take the time to be real and thorough with us on the tour was a testament to what the Sports industry is. This will stick with us and we look forward to passing it along one day in our future careers.
On April 4th, we flew back here to Covenant joyfully overflowing with what we accumulated during the week's events. Personally, we would like to thank our Professor Kourmoulis for making this trip possible. In addition to her efforts, we would also like to thank the Admissions Department and all of the others who supported us along the way. Take hold of the opportunities that are presented to you while you can because they are invaluable. There is no better time to get hands on learning than with your professors and peers to guide you.