With 2014 underway, the MSA students began to reassemble in Athens to get the spring 2014 semester underway. As always, some of the students took advantage of the downtime to work and volunteer at various events. Check out a brief summary of what some of the students did below.
Melissa Estepp, Sam Morgan, and Matt Gottfried - ACC Championship
On a misty December evening, the soon-to-be national champion Florida State Seminoles took on the underdog Duke Blue Devils at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. With an attendance of over 60,000 and in front of a national television audience, Florida State dazzled fans with an electric performance. Unbeknown to the common fan, this game was the culmination of months of preparation by the ACC committee and all partnering parties. Alumnus Michael Strickland, Senior Associate Commissioner, led a dedicated team of over 50 committee employees and volunteers. Professional MSAs Kris Pierce and Amy Ufnowski were integral members of this team.
Current MSA students Matt Gottfried, Sam Morgan and Melissa Estepp made the trek from Athens to Charlotte to help out with all facets involved in executing a successful weekend. They assisted with sponsorship activation, event preparation, event execution, Wounded Soldiers representative, Night of Legends, communication management and anything else asked of them.
With the ACC winning its first national championship since 2001 under the leadership of alumnus and ACC Commissioner John Swofford, the ACC Championship Weekend truly was a Bobcat family event.
John Nowicki
"I shadowed Wade Martin and Jeff Webster of the Detroit Lions on December 16, 2013 for the Monday Night Football game vs. the Baltimore Ravens.
Throughout the evening, I traveled around with Wade Martin and Jeff Webster to meet with corporate sponsors and prospective clients for the Detroit Lions. The opportunity to see behind the scenes of a MNF game with two Ohio University Alumni was an unbelievable experience and has only heightened my drive to work in corporate sponsorships."
Melissa Estepp
"I had a great time in Charlotte, NC over my winter break assisting Frank Kay, Director of Communications for Raycom Sports at the Belk Bowl. Although I have previously volunteered at a number of collegiate football games, I have not spent much time in the press box or dealt much at all with the media side. I assisted Mr. Kay in distributing media gifts and media credentials, made edits to record book and summarized post-game media notes. Mr. Kay allowed me to get a sneak peek into what really goes in in the press box on game day and also allowed me to assist with post-game interviews."
Preston McClellan - ESPN Events (Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl & Heart of Dallas Bowl)
I worked with Bryan Delgado (MBA/MSA '12) and Daniel Fleming (PMSA '14) along with Kiki Cunningham (Marietta '14) to produce the social and digital media content in the 4 weeks leading up to the games as well as the actual game days. We worked together to create graphics, create engagement through the competing teams' fan bases, and deliver great content on game day. Check out some of the design work here.
Lucas Topolie
I volunteered for the Lakeridge Health Foundation at the Oshawa General Hospital in the fundraising department. I was responsible for prospecting major gift donors in the area and stewarding previous donors. It was a great opportunity to work in the Healthcare industry and in a major gifts department.
With 2014 underway, the MSA students began to reassemble in Athens to get the spring 2014 semester underway. As always, some of the students took advantage of the downtime to work and volunteer at various events. Check out a brief summary of what some of the students did below.
Melissa Estepp, Sam Morgan, and Matt Gottfried - ACC Championship
On a misty December evening, the soon-to-be national champion Florida State Seminoles took on the underdog Duke Blue Devils at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. With an attendance of over 60,000 and in front of a national television audience, Florida State dazzled fans with an electric performance. Unbeknown to the common fan, this game was the culmination of months of preparation by the ACC committee and all partnering parties. Alumnus Michael Strickland, Senior Associate Commissioner, led a dedicated team of over 50 committee employees and volunteers. Professional MSAs Kris Pierce and Amy Ufnowski were integral members of this team.
Current MSA students Matt Gottfried, Sam Morgan and Melissa Estepp made the trek from Athens to Charlotte to help out with all facets involved in executing a successful weekend. They assisted with sponsorship activation, event preparation, event execution, Wounded Soldiers representative, Night of Legends, communication management and anything else asked of them.
With the ACC winning its first national championship since 2001 under the leadership of alumnus and ACC Commissioner John Swofford, the ACC Championship Weekend truly was a Bobcat family event.
John Nowicki
"I shadowed Wade Martin and Jeff Webster of the Detroit Lions on December 16, 2013 for the Monday Night Football game vs. the Baltimore Ravens.
Throughout the evening, I traveled around with Wade Martin and Jeff Webster to meet with corporate sponsors and prospective clients for the Detroit Lions. The opportunity to see behind the scenes of a MNF game with two Ohio University Alumni was an unbelievable experience and has only heightened my drive to work in corporate sponsorships."
Melissa Estepp
"I had a great time in Charlotte, NC over my winter break assisting Frank Kay, Director of Communications for Raycom Sports at the Belk Bowl. Although I have previously volunteered at a number of collegiate football games, I have not spent much time in the press box or dealt much at all with the media side. I assisted Mr. Kay in distributing media gifts and media credentials, made edits to record book and summarized post-game media notes. Mr. Kay allowed me to get a sneak peek into what really goes in in the press box on game day and also allowed me to assist with post-game interviews."
Preston McClellan - ESPN Events (Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl & Heart of Dallas Bowl)
I worked with Bryan Delgado (MBA/MSA '12) and Daniel Fleming (PMSA '14) along with Kiki Cunningham (Marietta '14) to produce the social and digital media content in the 4 weeks leading up to the games as well as the actual game days. We worked together to create graphics, create engagement through the competing teams' fan bases, and deliver great content on game day. Check out some of the design work here.
Lucas Topolie
I volunteered for the Lakeridge Health Foundation at the Oshawa General Hospital in the fundraising department. I was responsible for prospecting major gift donors in the area and stewarding previous donors. It was a great opportunity to work in the Healthcare industry and in a major gifts department.
