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Wearing many hats in a pro soccer ‘startup’

Jake connected with Westchester SC staff members early in the fall and began interning with the club in January—“doing a little bit of everything”—before being named the player operations coordinator.

“I cater to the players’ everyday needs. We have a lot of foreign players, and I’m bilingual, so I do a lot of translation to help them move to the area and get settled, for example. I’m with the team every day, and since the players know I played myself, they know I understand their perspectives and they’re comfortable sharing their needs with me,” he says.

“But because it’s basically a startup, I have also been a part of marketing efforts, event planning and community outreach. It’s been a really interesting and rewarding experience.”

How ����TV prepared Jake for success

Jake, who majored in American Studies at ����TV, says he regularly leans on his communication and language skills, and he credits ����TV’s emphasis on career preparation from day one with helping him refine and reach his goal of launching a career in sports management.

“I took a variety of classes that all catered to my interests. They definitely made me well-rounded and allow me to be part of marketing calls, draft club documents, work on sponsorships, those sorts of things,” he says.

“And at ����TV, career preparation starts early, so I knew I needed to really look into what I wanted to do in the future. I worked with the Hale Center for Career Development and the Academic Resource Center to refine my resume and make a plan, and I was prepared when I contacted the club and ultimately got the job.”