SPRING 2022 | 13 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Kobie Tuckson is a senior Sport Management major interning with the Philadelphia Eagles. After graduation, Kobie will continue to work with the Eagles in a fulltime position. From an early age, Kobie knew he wanted to pursue a career in the sports field. “My whole life has revolved around sports. Everything I know is sports. I did not doubt what I wanted to major in when it was time to decide. I now know a lot about the sports industry/business. I have zero regrets.” As a Ticket & Fan Services intern for the Philadelphia Eagles, he spends his day offering greetings to everyone in the office, from the cleaner to coworkers. Even when he finishes an assignment, Kobie always ensures he uses his time wisely. Kobie credits his success in landing this internship to his resume. Through volunteer experience and internships with Old Glory DC, a professional rugby team, he built himself up with the skills needed to intern with the Eagles. The sports business is broad, which is why Kobie is still discovering what his dream job is. However, he has an interest in working with youth and community relations. Kobie also stated, “One day, I would love to open a fitness center that is especially friendly to the youth.” Kobie advises students to build connections. It is a crucial step in growing your academic and professional career. Through his connections, he set up meetings with people in his field of interest. Since he is passionate about working with youth, he contacted the manager of Youth Football & Community Relations for the Eagles and learned about opportunities in this field. His initiative in building this connection led to further connections with another NFL team. “Build connections. I emphasize “build” because when you have a connection, you need to keep it alive and build trust.” GRADUATE SPOTLIGHT Shantal Ewell is a Kutztown University graduate student earning her Master of Business Administration and started her academic journey as a Computer Science major. Her passion for technology allowed her to “make a difference in the communities, teams, and organizations” she was a part of. Although she thought about pursuing a Master’s in Computer Science, her love for business persuaded her to follow a different path. She hopes to use her technical and business skills to create a significant impact. Shantal was one of the finalists in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Startup Competition and later won the $10,000 first prize. Her startup idea was inspired by her undergraduate experience. As a freshman, she was provided with a degree planner to help her choose courses; however, it became useless since outside factors were not reflected in the planner. Some of these factors included: the addition, removal, or modification of courses, course availability, and prerequisites. Shantal realized the scope of this issue during her sophomore year when her friends shared similar issues when 12 | INNOVISION MAGAZ INE scheduling courses. This common thread pushed her to conduct a survey on the degree planner with a target audience of students who were not on the traditional fouryear track. She also surveyed advisors to understand their experiences with the planner. “With this data at my fingertips, I felt empowered to create a solution to help students understand their degree requirements and aid faculty in advising students in unique situations more effectively.” With this mindset, Shantal created Schedula and entered herself in this competition. Her background in computer science helped her create this solution, which relies on artificial intelligence and machine learning. By collecting valuable feedback and applying it to different scenarios, she was ultimately able to bring this idea to life. Working on this project has allowed her to further develop her knowledge and skills. Through her meaningful connections at KU, she met Kevin Smith, who has been a terrific addition to her team. His knowledge as a Student Affairs graduate student brings insight into higher education, which is needed since Schedula is an educational technology tool. Educational technology is a growing industry and the recent pandemic has contributed to its rapid expansion, making it a good time to introduce new software. When asked about what advice she would give future competitors in the PASSHE competition, she stated, “I would say go for it! It is a great way to showcase your idea and get an opportunity to take your business from the idea stage to implementation. When entering the competition, be as detailed as possible, have a good business idea, and show great effort in your work. The judges will see that you did your research and that you got what it takes to be in the top three or the winner of the competition.”
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