From left to right: Sean O'Hara ('10) and Brian Gainor ('07)
Each year when new graduate students of the SAFM program at Ohio University come to campus, they are encouraged to build a personal advisory board to help guide them throughout their professional career. A faculty member, a current graduate student in the MBA/MSA program, and an alum (Executive Mentor) are assigned to help direct students toward their passion within the sports industry.
The faculty member and current graduate student assignments are made immediately and serve as a way for first year students to learn the ins and outs of campus and the program. The alumni assignment is done through a process that tries to help align the career interests of each individual student. Each new student is asked to look through the OHIO Alumni Directory and find five to ten alums that they think would serve as good Executive Mentors in the particular field of sport that he or she wants to work in.
There are more than 1,200 alums to choose from, so this task was difficult to narrow it down to just five or ten individuals. I was quickly drawn to those alums who were working for Nike, Gatorade, and Coca-Cola, as I wanted to work in brand marketing for a corporate company. After much deliberation, I was able to come up with a list which I presented to the mentor placement chairs, Packy Moran ('07) and Janae Laverdiere ('09).
A few weeks later, my class received our mentors. Laverdiere forewarned me that she thought she had the perfect fit for me and was really excited about the pairing. To my surprise, my mentor was Brian Gainor ('07), who currently serves as an account executive for GMR in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In our initial conversation, Gainor made it clear to me that he was there for me to answer any questions that I had no matter what the subject matter. Whether it related to the program, to finding an internship, or to my personal life; Gainor wanted me to come to him so that I did not feel alone or confused in any situation. This was extremely reassuring considering the stress that I was facing as I tried to work my way through the MBA program while trying to network, search for an internship, and carry on a long distance relationship.
Since that conversation, we have probably talked on the phone close to 50 times. Whether it was just getting a piece of advice on whom to reach out to amongst the alumni family or congratulating each other on each of our undergraduate alma maters winning national championships in the sport of football and basketball; we would take the time to connect with one another.
Early on a consistent topic of conversation was obtaining an understanding for where I could search to pursue my passion to work in brand marketing. This was exceptionally important because Gainor exposed me to the whole agency side of brand marketing. Through our conversations, I was able to learn the technical language so that I was better prepared to speak to other individuals operating in that same space.
Along with our conversations, Gainor gave me the tip to begin networking EARLY, so that I can build my relationships with individuals that I may want to be reaching out to in the spring for a potential internship. Immediately I began to carve a small space of time out of the busy MBA schedule to connect with alums on a weekly basis. One of the individuals that I reached out to turned out to be a future classmate, Jessica Lamb ('10).
During Lamb’s visit to campus, I met with her to discuss the company that she currently worked for, SportsMark. The work that her company was involved in as an event marketing and strategic consulting firm was very interesting to me, and so I continued to stay in touch with her. Later that April, an opportunity came up where Lamb needed some extra help at the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in Detroit, and she called on me to help.
The experience that I received from working this event was incredible and gave me more knowledge of how SportsMark executed their events. It also gave me a leg up in the interview process for an internship, as I was able to meet a number of the individuals who worked for SportsMark. After interviewing for the internship at SportsMark and many other companies, it was now down to a waiting game.
When SportsMark called me back, I quickly accepted as I was overjoyed to work with such a great group of people. Immediately after receiving the call, I phoned up my worrisome parents to inform them that I had secured an internship. My next call was to Gainor, as it was special to share this moment with him because of all of the advice he gave me throughout the year.
The internship experience was superb and I learned a tremendous amount from the different projects that I worked on for SportsMark. During the summer, Gainor and I continued to stay in touch and reviewed what we were working on and how our personal lives were moving forward. Again it was through these conversations that I was able to make my presence felt at SportsMark. This led to an on-going relationship with them post-internship where I am currently working for them ten hours a week for practicum credit.
Since arriving back to Athens campus to begin the MSA portion of the MBA/MSA program, Gainor and I have picked up where we left off and continually speak to each other on the phone once a week. It has been such a privilege and an honor to have Gainor as my mentor, and I hope that many other future students and alums are able to experience a similar relationship. It is through this relationship and experience that I feel I have been able to position myself so that I am ready to take on the world come graduation in the spring.
The Executive Mentor Program plays a pivotal role in growth and professional development of the Sports Administration graduate students at Ohio University. If you are a member of our alumni family and interested in becoming an Executive Mentor, please contact the Center for Sports Administration at (740) 593-4666 or e-mail us at [email protected].
