How Matt’s College Jobs Helped Him Graduate in Four Years

Matt – Junior in High School through College Graduation+

Situation:

Matt was a typical high school junior, he wanted to go to college but had no idea what he wanted for a career or college major. It was important for him to graduate from college in four years, so he did not have to take out loans over and above what his parents were willing to pay.

Discussion:

Matt loved sports, he did not play in high school but could quote almost any NFL football stat, the timelines on uniform changes throughout the years, and the history of the players.

Ah ha! Moment:

When Matt was little, he would build replicas of stadiums out of paper and tape. This included locker rooms, goalposts and even the lights. Matt and his coach talked about his love of sports and fascination with stadiums and narrowed his career scope to working within the sports industry. He decided Sports Management was the right choice of major. He did not know what role he would like to be a part of within the industry.

Action Items:

Throughout college, Matt immersed himself in activities that would help him decide what part of sports management would make him happy. He did things like selling hotdogs to his fraternity brothers after they came home from going out (can you say concessions?) He got a job at the campus T-shirt shop (can you say merchandise?). After COVID he was able to also get work selling tickets to sporting events and videotaping the school ice hockey games (can you say operations?)

Result:

Matt received his degree in Sports Management and decided his goal was to work at a D1 college running their football equipment program.

His first opportunity after college was to intern for the Dallas Cowboys on their Equipment Team and later got hired to work for the XFL working for the Houston Roughriders. Within 15 months of graduating, Matt was hired to work on the SMU football equipment team. Because Matt had a plan going into college, he was able to stay on track to get his degree within four years and jump into a role directly after college within his career of choice. He hit his goal of working for a D1 college within 15 months of graduating.

A Glimpse into Matt’s CliftonStrengths:

Adaptability®: People high in Adaptability® prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

When Matt is at work, he is constantly asked to change course to do things like snag balls for the O-line, move the chains, do laundry and film practices. He moves from task to task with ease and loves all the movement and changes throughout his day.

WOO®: People high in Woo® theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.

Matt thrives when there are lots of people to meet. Within a football organization, there are hundreds of people to connect with from coaches, trainers, players, owners, and marketing and operations teams.

When things go wrong:

Matt did not know about all the opportunities there were in the sports management field. What if he did not make the connection between loving stadiums and sports to being able to have a career within his area of interest?

Matt’s thoughtful discussions with his coach about his interests lead to finding the RIGHT major that supported his goals. When teens go into college with the ‘figure it out as you go plan’ will change majors to find what is right for them. This will most likely extend their time in college to the 5.5 years it takes students on average to get their four-year degree.

Parents Takeaway:

Your teen can determine a career path at ‘this age’. Initiate the conversation and give them the choice to find something they are interested in for a career.  Only they can determine a career path that will make them happy. Help them trust in their decisions by listening and asking questions that will challenge them to gather the facts about the careers that interest them.

Matt did not participate in any one of our programs, but more like all the programs and then some. He is Kristin’s son and was a guinea pig for all her coaching ideas. Bless your heart, Matt, you did good!

Get More Content Like This

If you would like to get more content like this, as well as notifications of events and resources, fill out the form below