Innovision Fall 2019

20 | INNOVISION MAGAZINE What are some of your daily responsibilities? I ama full-time student in the Sport,Tourism, HospitalityManagement School at Temple, pursuing a master’s degree in Sport Business with a concentration in Athletic Administration. In addition to school, I am responsible for all day-to-day operations in the field hockey office, such as making travel and food arrangements, logging in CARA hours, designing and copywriting monthly newsletters, creating social media content, operating the filming of games, collecting statistical data and helping the Marketing Department organize game-day promotions. I am responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the field hockey alumni by planning and organizing alumni events, clinics, tournaments and our annual banquet. What qualities do you think are the most important to succeed in your position? I think it is important to be thorough in order to succeed in this position. When you are thorough in administrative tasks, it makes life easier for the whole staff and benefits the team overall. Coaches can focus their priority on the student athletes and coaching the X’s and O’s of the game instead of stressing over meticulous administrative duties. It is important to have good communication skills and be a reliable person to the coaching staff and the athletic department. What have you learned on the job that you necessarily wouldn’t in the classroom? On the job, I have learned to think ahead and be prepared for the unexpected. As we all know, the reason why people love sports is because it is unpredictable. Therefore, in the classroom it is hard to have a true grasp of the uncertainties of the sports industry unless you experience it firsth and on the job. What led you into your field? What about it motivates and inspires you ? My experience playing field hockey collegiately at KutztownUniversity led me to want to work in collegiate athletics. My experience playing field hockey at KU was valuable and taught many lessons. The lessons I learned motivated me to be a support system and advocate for current student athletes today. I understand and have a huge amount of respect for what athletes go through. They are juggling busy schedules with classes and practices while also being expected to perform at the optimal level in their sport. I want to look out for student athletes because at the end of the day I want them to look back and see that those four to five years are the most rewarding experiences they will undergo. Can you briefly describe your career path from being a student at KU up until now? I had two internship experiences, one was a coaching softball at Kutztown Middle School. My second internship was at Villanova University in their Athletic Department, assisting with the day-to day operations, travel and processing business documents. I helped in other areas such as, working game day “will call” for the ticket office, live graphics for the Nova Nation “All-Access” broadcast, game day events and helping with social media posts in the marketing department. During my time at Kutztown, I had the opportunity to attend the NCAA Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis, IN. This forum was a valuable experience for me as I networked with key decision-makers. After graduation, I knew I could gain experience working in a college athletic department by being a graduate extern or graduate assistant. From there, I found this position and thought it would be perfect for me as I’m involved in the sport I love. COURTNEY KONOWAL ‘18 Courtney Konowal was a Sports Management major with a minor in Coaching and Athletic Administration. Currently, she is the Director of Field Hockey Operations and Graduate Extern at Temple University. ALUMNI INTERVIEW “My experience playing field hockey at KU was valuable and taught many lessons.”