For those who have never hit a home run, made a touchdown or hit that three-pointer, a career in sports may seem like only a dream.
But a panel last Thursday night organized by Career Services sought to show that this dream can still become a reality.
Wharton sophomore David Haber attended the discussion because, he said, he is interested in getting himself recognized in an industry that, unlike many typical Wharton careers, he believes "really revolve[s] around names and recognition" -- sports broadcasting.
The panel included Penn Women's Lacrosse coach Karin Brower, lawyer and 1995 Penn graduate Amanda Gross, Marketing and Business Development Consultant for Threshold Sports Rob Hendrick, WXPN News, Sports and Public Affairs Representative Bob Bumbera and Philadelphia Phillies Director of Fun and Games John Brazer.
The panel focused on the competitive nature of the sports field and the advantages of possibly breaking into the industry through a long road of internships.
According to Bumbera, interning is the primary way to make one's way in the business, both for the experience and the contact exposure.
"Sometimes it's not even what you know... it's that old cliche of who you know," Bumbera said.
Gross explained to the crowd the value of "selling yourself," noting that "timing, luck, and contacts are everything.
"Timing and luck you can't really do anything about, but [with] contacting you can be proactive," he said.
Gross added that it is a "pain in the ass [to] figure out how to be creative and how to sell yourself personally," claiming that working as an intern "sucks, it really does."
According to Brazer, who left the insurance industry for the world of sports after he met his future employer at a wedding, "The best way to [get into the field] is trying to network as much as you can."
Fellow panelist Brower said she learned all about patience and commitment after "living below the poverty line for many years being a woman's assistant coach." She described her job as being "like running your own business," and despite the rigors of "wooing 17-year-olds" into coming to Penn, said that her profession is "extremely rewarding."
Bumbera also knows the hard struggle of going after a seemingly glamorous career in sports.
"I bartended for a lot of years," he said. "My first radio job, I made a lot more bartending [in one night] than working a week [at the station]. It afforded me my radio habit."
But for Bumbera and the other panelists, their hard work eventually paid off. Bumbera found his way into the business after befriending a broadcaster and then taking a shot at getting noticed by filling in for him during his vacation.
Hendrick caught a break while loading boxes at a car race and being mistaken for an employee. Brower braved through years of assistant coaching, and Gross took numerous internships and spent hours "cold calling" people she met.
The group's advice for aspiring sports professionals ranged from Brower telling a hopeful student to "compliment them up and down -- people love that" to Brazer encouraging the audience to "take as many communications courses" as possible.
But "the key part is forming a relation with someone in the organization," Brazer added.
However, Gross gave an warning to those students considering sports law as a career.
"If you want to go into sports law, you have to really like the law," Gross said. "It's not always as exciting and sexy as it looks in the beginning."
After listening to the panel, Haber remained undaunted in choosing the sports field as a future career path.
"The main concern [is] contacts," he said. "If you can get yourself recognized... then that's going to open more doors."
Opening more doors is exactly what Bumbera had in mind when he concluded with encouraging words.
"I think you have all made five contacts tonight."
