< Previous8 | “I stayed an extra day in Indianapolis and started asking people for rides to Chicago since it was three hours from Indianapolis,” Yellin recalled. “Eventually, I was able to ride back to Chicago with Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. I called my wife and asked if she could pick me up on the side of the highway and take me home. All I had was my five suits and casual clothes. I was happy to see my family and kids, but the dynamic was weird.” Instead of the traditional “One Shining Moment” montage airing after the tournament, athletic communicators made sure their student-athletes had shining moments to cherish. There was no shortage of content ideas. straightening her hair, and getting ready to fill her water bottle because the Tigers were scheduled to play an afternoon quarterfinal game in the Colonial Athletic Association women’s tournament at Elon. That’s when she received the official, but expected, news: tournament canceled. Before figuring out content strategy, Curtin scrambled to pack and clean her room. She boarded the bus for the six-hour ride back to Towson and responded to the buzzing flurry of messages on her phone from media members. She arranged an interview with head women’s basketball coach Diane Richardson on the side of the highway over FaceTime with a television station when the team stopped at Walmart to get water. The strangeness was just starting for athletic communicators across the country especially after the NCAA canceled the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments — days before selections. Yellin was temporarily stranded in Indianapolis. Assisting at the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, he was scheduled to fly back to College Park with the team when its time in Indianapolis concluded. The Terps never took off. Yellin moderated a press conference with Commissioner Kevin Warren while answering pandemic-related questions he had no answers for and trying to figure out how he could get home. There were stories written about former student-athletes who were working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and student- athlete protests across the country. Learning more about their backgrounds, and seeing their increased civic engagement took center stage during the summer. Tidbits from articles and student- athlete bios were repurposed and transformed into quality social posts. Stories were shared across every platform possible: Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok, Snapchat. There were infographics celebrating seniors, memorable moments, and video highlights that kept fans entertained. “It gave me a new perspective of storytelling,” Jarome said. “I would say fun was one word to describe it, but I also found myself being investigative. I wanted to make sure to tell the story the right way, and, after six months of working on one story, we are close to releasing it. It’s always fun to tell the stories of those who are here. I’ve always said if we don’t have student-athletes, coaches, or administrators and stories to tell then what are we doing?” Voices of Change Athletics communicators were a critical link in helping to bring meaningful change, positively amplifying voices, and raising awareness Storytelling During a Pandemic Jason Yellin (in white shirt, seated) with his Maryland Athletics staff and the ESPN College GameDay crew. “These people mean a lot to me,” Yellin said. “They are the ones who create our content.” Nicole Curtin was preparing for a Towson quarterfinal game in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament when she got the news the season was ending.CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 9 Storytelling During a Pandemic C ou rt es y V an der bi lt A th le tics. The people are the hardest part. The people also happen to be the best part. From my time as a softball student-athlete at Wittenberg University to my current position overseeing Vanderbilt football communications, those lines have rung true. While I can look back on any number of softball wins, academic honors or athletic awards during my years as a Tiger, the most impactful part of my collegiate career is the group text message some of my former teammates and I still use. The people, memories and friendships are better than any hit I ever had, and I own the program record. It was my teammates who believed in and trusted me as an 18- year old, and still believe in and trust me as a 35-year old. From spending time with them, I knew I wanted to offer that same support to any student-athlete I was fortunate enough to work with in the future. It’s not always easy, though. The truth is we as humans are all messy and flawed. But we offer one another companionship, love and appreciation. So while we are all difficult in our own ways, we are worth every moment of investment and relationship building. When I look back at my 12 years as a sports information professional, my career has been profoundly shaped by the people I’ve met. People who gave me my first job, allowed me to work my first football game, granted me my first full season working with football, challenged me and pushed me past what I thought my capacity was, just to discover I had more. But most of all, people who loved me, making me want to share and return their love. As I journeyed through the last 18 months, going from Duke University to Western Michigan University to lead my own department and to Vanderbilt University to head up communications for the football program, I tried to carry those lessons, and the love, with me. It’s about the people and building trust and relationships with them. It’s about helping tell the stories of our people and empowering them as best we can to tell their own stories. At no point was that philosophy more on display than in late November, when Vandy prepared to suit up Sarah Fuller to kick. Sarah and I spent hours with our team on Zoom as we talked through what this moment might mean and look like and the dominoes that would begin to fall as soon as we made the announcement — the intense scrutiny it would bring to Sarah and the incredible hope and inspiration she would bring others with this action. When we knew this event was going to happen, I had two priorities: Take care of Sarah Fuller, and take care of Vanderbilt. As we look back, I’d like to think we accomplished both. But it wouldn’t have happened without trust and relationships. And love. Lots of love. The people are the best part. Still. The People Are the Best Part by Sarah Fetters | Vanderbilt University, Director of Football Communications | “When we knew this event was going to happen, I had two priorities: Take care of Sarah Fuller, and take care of Vanderbilt. As we look back, I’d like to think we accomplished both. But it wouldn’t have happened without trust and relationships. And love. Lots of love.” Sarah Fetters10 | with them.” Towson unveiled an “In Her Words” series in which volleyball athletes shared deeply personal stories of how social injustice impacted them. Middlebury College athletics welcomed uncomfortable, authentic conversations into the everyday lives of their community with a transformational series titled, “Leaning Into Discomfort.” The goal was normalizing talking about aspects of identity such as race, sexual orientation, gender, and ability. The University Athletic Association (UAA) had a series called “Conversations on Race and Racism.” New York University released a series called “Violets Using Their Voices.” It was a Zoom interview with a student- athlete and department personnel each week where topics like social justice, racism, voting, and gender equity were featured. “My series (entitled ‘Pitching In’), writing about what athletic department staff members and coaches were doing since we weren’t tending to games and events was well-received by university of issues that were important to student- athletes. Without games, administrators across the country learned that skill sets of athletic communicators are diverse and go way beyond stating games, keeping historical records, and writing recaps. The student-athletes — the heartbeat of any athletics department — were the beneficiaries. Athletic communicators enthusiastically embraced the opportunity they had to teach, learn, and impact others. Former University of Kansas assistant director of athletic communications Kiaira Cooper participated in a social justice march with the Kansas women’s basketball team. “We are here to help guide them as they’re still trying to figure out life,” Cooper said. “Every experience is a learning one. I believe this season in their lives was big because they saw that their voices do matter. I learned that my voice matters in a huge way. My job is about more than that and I saw that when those young women marched on campus.” They led with empathy and humanity during uncertain times and relied on one another in the profession for support. “I also learned that there are a host of people from all ethnicities and backgrounds in our SID family that wake up every day and decide to be the change instead of talking about it or denying that there’s a need for change,” second-year Elizabeth City State sports information director Shalyn Moore said. “It taught me that I was going to make the intentional effort to be the change Storytelling During a Pandemic administration,” NYU’s Jeff Bernstein said. “Presenting the versatility of department personnel (handing out COVID Tests, working with students in quarantine, etc.) opened some eyes.” Jarome started two new programs called “Hornet Nation Unfiltered” and “Unplugged.” It was a platform where former student-athletes, current coaches, and administrators told their stories of Alabama State. As part of its “Impact of a Scholarship” series, Maryland focused on former student-athletes in the medical field. “These stories also allowed us to connect with our development unit, the Terrapin Club, knowing the impact communication can have in leading to a major gift or reconnection with an alum,” Yellin said. “We ran a campaign called “More than the Score” — what it says, during these times, it’s more than the score.” At Elizabeth City State, its “My ECSU Stories” compilation was meaningful for Moore. “It was very imperative to provide the student-athletes with a platform to advocate for themselves and spread awareness throughout this year’s social justice reform movements and the election,” Moore said. “We pride ourselves on providing a campus and conference culture that promotes diversity and inclusion, so that must reflect in the dialogue, development, and support our athletic programs deliver. As an athletic communicator, it showed me that it was of the utmost importance to me that our student-athletes didn’t feel silenced or divided.” Kiaira Cooper was the SID for the Kansas women’s basketball team that organized a social justice march on campus. “I also learned that there are a host of people from all ethnicities and backgrounds in our SID family that wake up every day and decide to be the change instead of talking about it or denying that there’s a need for change.” Shalyn MooreCoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 11 Negro Leaguer Ted Trent, a Bethune- Cookman graduate, was a success. He told the story through the lens of the student-athletes, which was picked up by The Athletic’s Joe Posnanski. Trent was one of the Negro League’s best pitchers and preceded Cy Young by about 20 years. “We were able to reach deep into the archives to pull out some great stories and photos from as far back as the late 1800s,” Slippery Rock director of athletics communications Holtz said. “We found some good photos of a former Slippery Rock pitcher with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in their Yankees uniforms from the 1920s that gave us some great assets to include with a feature about former SRU baseball players that won World Series titles. “We found some incredible photos of former SRU athletes that left school to serve in World War II for a feature about the last time sports were suspended on campus and how the war impacted SRU athletics.” Learning Opportunities Getting student-athletes to earn their trust to share a deeply personal story wasn’t easy. “It was hard because you had to get to know the subject so that they Super Bowl Winners and Babe Ruth At the conference level, the challenges were even greater since they weren’t on a specific campus. Sammi Wellman, director of communications of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, was happy that some of the ideas she had manifested themselves. One of the ideas she excellently executed on was doing stories on families within the conference like fathers coaching daughters, sisters on the same team, and siblings at the same school. “We wanted to keep things active and not have the sad news of things being canceled the only thing people saw on our website,” Wellman said. “It allowed us to do more features on current and former athletes that we might not always be able to do at the conference level. It was fun to see how many family connections a lot of our schools had — we had a lot.” Jarome spoke with Super Bowl winners Reggie Barlow (Tampa Bay) and Michael Coe (New York Giants) as part of his podcast series highlighting Hornet alums. He also talked with Eddie Robinson, who played in Super Bowl XXXIV for the Titans against the Rams. Ryan’s decision to focus on former Storytelling During a Pandemic would trust you to tell their story,” Cooper said. “It still is, to be frank. My philosophy is authenticity when it comes not only to tell a story but allowing others to tell me that they aren’t feeling an idea (it doesn’t fit them). For me, it is quality over quantity, and taking the time to truly tell someone’s story. “Some of the things we wrote about were meant to be self-reflective as well as helping them understand the subject on a more personal level.” Since most of the work was done remotely, scheduling interviews were an obstacle. Traditional face-to-face interviews were replaced with text and email exchanges as well as through Zoom calls. “I learned that it’s important to allow our students to have the freedom to express themselves and feel good about doing it,” Yellin said. “It was empowering for me to see them be so vocal and front and center on campus, in the Washington Post, on umterps. com. It meant a lot to me. Our stories, very often, are bringing happiness and warmth to our supporters.” Not playing games offered an opportunity for growth for many athletics communicators. Creativity was inspired by participating in many professional development webinars, “My series (entitled ‘Pitching In’), writing about what athletic department staff members and coaches were doing since we weren’t tending to games and events, was well-received by university administration. Presenting the versatility of department personnel (handing out COVID tests, working with students in quarantine, etc.) opened some eyes.” Jeff Bernstein Travis Jarome of Alabama State did podcasts with alums who went on to win NFL Super Bowls. Jon Holtz of Slippery Rock dug into his archives to connect fans to the last time sports were halted. Sammi Wellman of the Cascade Collegiate Conference told the stories of the family connections at her member schools.12 | specifically related to COVID issues. Students and faculty can send in pandemic-related questions, such as if they need to quarantine or to report a positive test. The address is also used to communicate to people about next steps when they learn about a positive test, including contact tracing and quarantine issues. “The good part is people are asking questions and want to do the right thing with my needing to frequently check that account,” Svenson said. Another task Svenson has managed over the course of the last few months is to oversee and help deliver food to those in isolation or quarantine. At its peak, BLC had 35 people in on-campus quarantine and isolation with 15 more living off campus. At one of the school’s worst points, they were two beds away from being at capacity in their isolation houses. Reaching capacity would have forced the school to go fully online with classes for two weeks. For Svenson and her staff, that meant delivering more than one hundred meals a day to students in quarantine. With luck, however, the COVID response team was able to add more beds to the isolation houses to increase capacity and devised a better plan for food service for those impacted. “That was very stressful. I felt like I was sprinting for three weeks straight as new positive tests came in,” Svenson said. “I logged my hours and was working 70-80 hours per week during that three-week stretch.” Despite the long weeks and hours, Svenson was able to find positives in taking on such an important role on her campus. She felt it was an honor to be called upon by the athletics director and Other Duties as Assigned CoSIDA members across the country are being asked to head up COVID-19 response teams. Life for athletics communications professionals was permanently altered when the COVID-19 pandemic brought college athletics to a halt in March 2020. Nearly a year removed and with the industry still finding its footing for playing through the pandemic, those same professionals have been tasked with a job they never thought would fall to them: juggling and navigating COVID-19 precautions and safety measures for athletic departments. Sports information directors across the country have stepped up in the fight against COVID-19, taking on extra jobs to help ensure their campuses remain a safe place for both students and athletes. Bethany Lutheran College coordinator of sports information KatieJo Svenson is an example of someone whose job description drastically changed. BLC was one of the many universities that postponed its fall sports seasons until the spring. The school’s President’s Cabinet approached Svenson in mid- August about becoming the campus COVID coordinator. Interestingly enough, Svenson cited her prior experience with Girl Scout camping trips as one of the reasons she felt uniquely prepared for the challenge. “My family and I had organized a week-long Girl Scout Day Camp for 250 people for 10-plus years,” Svenson said. “So that coupled with my SID experience in hosting home events, conference tournaments and rounds of the NCAA tournament and NCAA Championships would be of great background in this new/additional role.” One of her duties is to frequently check a campus email address by Danielle Potts CoSIDA Intern the cabinet for such a committed task. “The fact that the cabinet thought so highly of me in my first year on campus during the time of their brainstorm really meant a lot,” Svenson said. Piedmont College assistant director of athletic communications Danielle Percival is another SID who has taken on extra responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a promotion, Percival joined the administrative team at Piedmont in the fall of 2019 and soon faced one of the most challenging and unpredictable situations imaginable in dealing with the pandemic that following spring. Being a part of the administrative team gave Percival the opportunity to be in the discussions creating athletic COVID protocols, giving input on scheduling, and expanding her voice within the department. Tasked with KatieJo Svenson serves as the COVID Coordinator at Bethany Lutheran. Ph ot o p ro vi de d b y K at ie Jo S ve ns on .CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 13 listening to motivational podcasts, focusing on fitness goals, and reading books. “I learned to be more versatile and look at a bigger picture than wins and losses,” Bernstein said. “As an ‘old school’ guy, I was glad to see writing become a bit more prominent than it has been lately. It has been, is, and always will be about the student-athlete. Having sports taken away from them was devastating. The only thing we could try to do to help fill the gap was to allow them to speak their minds, to learn what they were feeling and how we could help.” In the immediate aftermath of the stunning shutdown, many athletic communicators focused on their spring sport senior student-athletes, creating virtual senior days on social media with infographics, creative content, and videos. There were season recaps presented dynamically through SIDEARM’s narrator platform or on Adobe Spark. ‘A Guaranteed W’ While the games ceased, athletic communicators enjoyed the opportunity to tell motivational stories. Many found it encouraging when athletic administrators shared the stories on their own social media platforms. “Never underestimate the joy of having the administration like your social media posts,” Ryan said. Communication with administrators during the pandemic was generally strong. Feature stories were shared on university platforms such as daily campus update emails, weekly blasts, and on various social media channels. CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell was proactive in assisting with content ideas. He also encouraged people within the conference to submit content. “I think being able to write these features showed how unique our conference is and brought some people to follow us that might not normally once they knew more about families at their schools or within their communities,” Wellman said. According to metrics from several athletic communicators, fans spent more time than usual on pages reading stories. Views increased on YouTube. Twitter engagement intensified. Instagram followers grew. First-person stories of perseverance, spirit, and success made a lasting impression. “The intensity of competition is missed as more and more time goes by,” Moore said. “However, I thoroughly enjoy producing feature stories and content. It allows our student-athletes and staff to shine beyond competition. I got to highlight character, classroom, and community success. More importantly, the work I produced in athletics complemented the mission of the university. There’s always a guaranteed W at the end of a feature.” Storytelling During a Pandemic creating baseline protocols for the entire campus, Percival admitted it was easy to get frustrated at times but working for the greater good of the campus helped the group remain motivated. “We met for hours on end weekly to discuss COVID protocols,” Percival said. “There were times it felt like spinning your wheels, but we knew we needed to be proactive rather than idly standing by.” Piedmont was another college that pushed its fall sports seasons to the spring of 2021, something Percival says has turned out to be a silver lining. The non-conference scheduling now comes through her office, allowing her staff to avoid some of the issues the department had previously faced. “In the past, we’ve had to be strategic on how to staff events if we have multiple events occurring simultaneously,” Percival said. “Our hope for this now is to more adequately staff the events this spring while adding as little extra stress on our staff as possible.” This year, many SIDs across the country have stepped up on their campuses in the fight against COVID-19. Our members have gone above and beyond, taking on extra tasks and working long hours, and have had their athletic departments rewarded with safe and successful sports seasons as a result. Sports information directors across the country have stepped up in the fight against COVID-19, taking on extra jobs to help ensure their campuses remain a safe place for both students and athletes. Danielle Percival (center) of Piedmont College, with her assistants Joseph Garwood and Troy Weiman. Ph ot o p ro vi de d b y D an ie lle P er ci va l.14 | with a summary of important facts than monotonous play-by-play that a reader never finishes. 4) Only use a quote if it’s original or provides insight. Delete any quote referring to a “team win” or other clichés. If you’ve heard it before, don’t use it. 5) Re-read the draft and remove unnecessary words, including ones that clutter a quote, such as “I think,” or “like” as long as it doesn’t change the meaning. 6) Include overall and conference win-loss records, but not in the lead paragraph. 7) To summarize, include key information — score, a name, crucial play, and significance — in the lead: “Maverick Handley smacked a three-run triple to right in the seventh for the go-ahead runs in Stanford’s 11-9 victory over Arizona at Sunken Diamond on Friday, lifting the Cardinal into second place in the Pac-12 baseball race.” Feature Writing Features are less formulaic. A lot of trust goes into a feature. The subject trusts that the writer will respect their story and tell it in the proper tone. If trauma is shared, the writer must know where to stop before it becomes With the amount of writing in our industry, we have alarmingly little editing oversight and that impairs our opportunities for self-improvement. However, our writing is more important than ever as local media outlets diminish and are unable to tell our stories as they once did, shifting the responsibility to us. That’s why we have an obligation to improve, because modern quick-glance communication such as social media and infographics cannot substitute for the impact of a well-written story. Recaps Recaps are the backbone of what we do, so let’s start there: 1) Learn the ‘inverted pyramid’ approach: The most important information is presented first. The who, what, when, where and why appear at the start of a story, followed by supporting details and background information. 2) Make sure the final score is the first score listed. Not something like, “USC trailed 24-20 before scoring a touchdown to win …” 3) Avoid chronological order. If you find yourself going this direction, stop. It’s better to have a short recap exploited and gratuitous. A synchronized swimmer with depression described standing in front of a mirror transfixed by the blood dripping down her arm from a cut she inflicted on herself. She gave me permission to include it in a story about how she overcame mental-health challenges to earn a Stanford degree. Ultimately, I avoided specific mention. I couldn’t shake the idea of a potential future employer getting hung up on that scene, even as it related to a positive outcome in her journey. In a profile of a Black thrower on the women’s track and field team who identifies as genderqueer and uses ‘they’ and ‘them’ pronouns, I did describe trauma — racist, homophobic and otherwise. Being spit upon by kids during a playground ‘game’ was one. The thrower was clear these should be included. I encourage pushing the envelope. The reason I wrote about an athlete with depression is because there are many like her. By bringing it to light, maybe purposeful change could come out of it. A genderqueer athlete? There are probably LGBTQ+ student-athletes and staff on every team. Why can’t we talk about it? To be clear, I sought the approval of coaches and administrators first. Each read the draft. If any raised a Writing Well for Storytelling Success by David Kiefer | Stanford University, Executive Editorial Producer | CoSIDA Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Winner 2018, 2019, 2020 A long-time CoSIDA member from Stanford University, Kiefer is an annual district and national Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest winner. He pens this advice on writing strategies and techniques to enhance your storytelling skills as you prepare content for features, video/digital stories, web posts, previews and recaps. CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 15 Links from Stanford Pandemic-era Stories: Lessons in Resilience (Track & Field alum LaShawndra Pace/Biden transition team): United in One (Treyjohn Butler, football): It Takes a Village (Naomi Girma, women’s soccer): Hero for Life (Lacrosse and women’s soccer alums/Ruth Bader Ginsburg): Biohacker (Jordan Greenberg, men’s swimming): Different Paths, Same Destination (Graduating student-athletes on value of Stanford degree): Playing with a Purpose (Teaghan Cowles, softball): Together While Apart (women’s lightweight rowing, virtual erg marathon): red flag, the story would have died. But none did, and the story was powerful and impactful. Similarly, the creation of a Black student-athlete group in the wake of the George Floyd killing provided an opportunity to address Stanford’s history with race. Administration approved the story, which provided an honest look at the athletic department’s past and hope for the future. Look deeper than statistics. Each person’s story can be framed by moments and scenes. Find a beginning, middle and end, and tell it that way. And there doesn’t need to be a tidy resolution. Be honest. Think of moments as turning points. A basketball player hid her alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. In fighting for a rebound, her wig fell off, exposing bald patches on her head. Embarrassed and humiliated, she considered dashing off the court. Instead, she tossed the wig aside and continued to play, a turning point in accepting her condition. Stories can be discovered through athletes, coaches, SIDs, academic advisors and social media. Social posts allowed me to discover that the women’s lightweight rowing team raised money for a food bank with an erg marathon, and that a sailor saved hundreds of jobs by converting his father’s printing business into a maker of personal protective equipment. The stories are out there, pandemic or not. And when you find one, don’t ‘write’ it, ‘tell’ it. In other words, it’s not on you to create a good story. Just get out of the way. A good story tells itself. Writing For Video There are similarities between written and video stories, which share some of the same steps. The following is a process toward writing for video. 1) The starting point: Consider first where you want the video to go and how to express those thoughts to your audience. In other words, what is the goal and the intended value? Once established, summarize the story in a sentence or two. This will help keep the piece focused. 2) Plan your script: Create an outline with a narrative arc. Make sure your video is going to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end, all while pointed toward a specific goal. 3) Write conversationally: A good script makes it easy for the people on camera to get their messages across while sounding and acting naturally. The script should be comfortable for the narrator, in manner and style. Keep sentences short and crisp and avoid compound sentences, if possible. 4) Script every word: Avoid jotting down bullet points and trying to wing it on camera. Preparation is key. If it’s a short video, make the script short, like 1-2 pages. You want the video to be succinct, engaging, and to allow for a simple editing process. 5) Read it out loud: Do this at least once before recording. Even if someone else will be the voice, this helps to make sure the message flows. Words in print don’t always sound the same when spoken. Smooth it out with a couple of reads out loud and adjust accordingly. 6) Get feedback: Once completed and read out loud, the script may be improved with feedback. Ask someone not involved in the process to do so and make some final adjustments before filming. Kiefer interviewing Stanford track & field student-athletes at the NCAA Indoor National Championships. Ph ot o p ro vi de d b y D av id K ie fe r.16 | Most women can point to several experiences, both small and large, where they have either been silenced because of their gender or supported. Supporting women in sports can take many different forms. I sent a prompt to a group of extraordinary women in our field, as well as to some men who are champions in lifting women in our profession. I asked each of them to talk about a transformational moment that was essential to their growth, or to someone else’s to show how we can all help women succeed in our industry. These are their stories. FROM STUDENT TO DIRECTOR Lisa Champagne, Assistant Director for Media Relations at the NESCAC Lisa Champagne was the Assistant Sports Information Director at the University of Vermont when student Amie Canfield inquired about her position. Canfield had spent four years as the manager of the women’s hockey team and wanted to learn more about Champagne’s role within the department. She quickly became a part of the student staff and the 1A contact for women’s hockey. “Amie was eager, knew the game of hockey and already had a relationship with the players and coaches,” said Champagne. “When I was on the road with women’s basketball, she had to handle all of the women’s hockey games from start to finish. I would often call to check in from whenever I was, but there really Transformational Champions for women share impactful moments that have made a difference and led to career success. by Ali Paquette | Middlebury College, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications | was no need to. Amie had things covered.” Canfield went on to become an assistant and eventually a director. “Seeing more and more women enter the profession has been encouraging,” said Champagne. “I wish I had more women to look up to when I started my career in 1994.” • • • MENTOR AND FRIEND Amie Canfield, Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications at Vassar College When Canfield landed her first full-time position in the field at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) her boss, Kevin Beattie, became a lifelong mentor and friend. Throughout Canfield’s time at RPI, Beattie was always there to push her to be the best that she could be, while also exuding kindness. It was his goal to ensure that Canfield built a strong foundation so that she could one day run her own office. “Kevin was the person I needed at that point in my career,” said Canfield. “He guided me to be better, to want more and to care about the work I do and who I do it for.” When Canfield had enough experience for the next chapter in her career, Beattie pushed her to leave. He knew that she was ready and that it was her time to be a leader. “Kevin is beyond thoughtful. When I left, tears were shed by both of us,” said Canfield. “When he gave his speech, he did a Kevin Beattie, Amie Canfield and Lisa Champagne Lauren Neilan Rachel Moore Supporting Women All photos submitted.CoSIDA 360 | FEBRUARY 2021 | 17 camera operator, so much so that she can run a broadcast by herself. “As a manager, this is what you want your employees to do,” said Moore. “You want them to become self-sufficient and have the confidence to take charge of situations.” The duo has only spent one semester working together, but Moore sees a lot of promise in the undergraduate student. • • • MAKING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS John Painter, Director of Athletic Communications at Colgate College At Colgate, there are not a lot of opportunities for daily media interactions, so John Painter has supported many women on his staff in seeking and earning roles with the NCAA media and coordination teams at various championships so that they could expand their skills in social media, television production, media relations and game management. “Nina Lindberg, Kat Castner and Chelsea Vielhauer all made terrific impressions on the NCAA staff, made good connections with other schools, and find themselves continuing to soar up the ladder of athletic communications success,” said Painter. “Mark Bedics at the NCAA now has Jenna Jorgensen from our staff helping with the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, so the cycle continues,” said Painter. “It truly is a joy to watch.” • • • A NEW SKILL Jalisa Fulwood, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations at Rhodes College As a sport and recreation major, Jalisa Fulwood had to complete a practicum and internship in order to graduate. What began as an internship in the sports information office quickly became more. One day, Jalisa had finished all of the athletic communications work, but still needed to fulfill a few more hours. Clayton Metz, the director of video content, asked Jalisa if she wanted to help him with a project. She had no experience in video editing, but she wanted to learn. Metz spent the afternoon teaching Fulwood the basics of Adobe Premiere, how to work a camera, top-10 list of the reasons why I was going to be missed and they were all based on songs from the time I’d been there, which was about seven years.” In 2015 when Canfield earned the CoSIDA Rising Star Award, both Beattie and Champagne were by her side to celebrate her success. • • • FULL CIRCLE Lauren Neilan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Marketing at Assumption University When Lauren Neilan was a senior at Assumption, she wanted to combine her love for athletics and her passion for marketing. She approached Sports Information Director Ken Johnson Jr. and asked if he had any internship opportunities. He offered her an internship, and she fell in love with the profession after a year in the position. As her senior year ended, Johnson suggested Neilan look for a graduate assistant position, and she was hired at Anna Maria College. After just a year in the profession, she was offered the full-time sports information director position there. “I am forever grateful to the Anna Maria athletic department for putting their faith in me to take the reins with such little experience under my belt,” Neilan said. “Looking back, I was handed a lot of responsibility in a very short amount of time. Other people had confidence in me to succeed, and that lifted me to where I am today, back at Assumption where it all started.” • • • EXPERIENCE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE Rachel Moore, Assistant Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Communications at Central Methodist University During Rachel Moore’s job interview at Central Methodist University, she met a student-athlete who was interested in athletic communications. Remembering this, when Moore started in her new role, she knew she wanted the student to work in her office. “My challenge to her when she started out was to experience as many different parts of the sports information world as possible,” said Moore. Moore’s student has gained valuable experience as a broadcast Nina Lindberg Jalisa Fulwood Chelsea Vielhauer Supporting WomenNext >