Job Search Intensifies

David R.

April 28, 2011 - 1:38 PM

As you would expect, I have begun to get more actively involved in the job search aspect of being a spring term senior at the University of Oregon. Just yesterday I had an interview with a company called Aerotek up in Portland, and I have another interview tomorrow over at the Sherwin-William paint company corporate office in Springfield. I certainly won't receive offers from all of the places that I will have interviewed with, but it is good practice nonetheless.

 

The last two internships I have been involved in have been sports business related, so that is certainly the field that I would like to go into. However, with the economy the way it is, I know that initially there may not always be opportunities in the field that one would like to go into, so I have been keeping my options relatively open. I was first exposed to Aerotek at the latest career fair that took place at the U of O. Aerotek has offices all over the country, but the two most relevant ones are in Portland and Tigard, Ore. Aerotek is an agency that essentially searches for qualified candidates to fill open positions at various businesses that seek Aerotek's assistance for staffing purposes. The friend of my roommate's older brother who works for Aerotek was in Eugene in the other day, and he said that he has loved working there and that it has been a great start for him. It obviously doesn't have any sports business relevance to it, but I definitely think it could be a good place for me to get my foot in the door at the start of my post-graduate career.

 

Similarly, everyone knows Sherwin-Williams paint, and I am eager to learn more about the role that I could possibly play within the company. Similar to Aerotek, I talked to a Sherwin-Williams representative at the career fair who made it sound like I would initially be involved in a sales role within the company. I have never been opposed to sales, and I feel like it could be a good fit for me. I also got the vibe from the career fair that many new graduates often find themselves starting out in sales positions, which makes sense because the job I could potentially have at Kroenke Sports Enterprises this summer would revolve around sales . Certainly there are new graduates that are fortunate to find themselves in positions that are relevant to what they want for an ideal career, like a sports marketing position in my case, but with jobs relatively limited as they are, it may be more beneficial for me to get my foot in the door wherever I can.

 

I'm glad today is Thursday, because that means that the rigor of my academic courses is over for the week. After my interview tomorrow morning, I'll probably have to work for a few hours and then I'll be getting ready for the evening. In celebration of a friend's birthday, I'll be enjoying then night cruising around on a party bus! These portable parties are a blast, and are always a good call for any celebration occasion!

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Bring on the Post-Season!

David R.

April 26, 2011 - 2:30 PM

As quickly as it began, the regular season for division 2 intramural softball is over and it is time to get ready for the playoffs. It's hard to get in the grind with only a three game regular season, but we all understand that this isn't NCAA division 1 softball here. Luckily, every team makes the playoffs, so the regular season means nothing in the grand scheme of things. We were able to finish with two wins and one loss so we should be at the top of the seeding. Yesterday we won the regular season finale by a score of 9-5 to take a little momentum in the post-season.

 

I can't believe it is already the fifth week of my last college term. I wish it would slow down but it surely won't. Midterms are rolling through and this tends to be the time of the term when all of the work piles up. I have two projects due on Thursday, as well as mid-term exam on Friday. The mid-term due on Friday is a take home exam, so you would think it would be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. There are 10 questions on the test and the answer to each one is supposed to be half a page long. It seems a little excessive to me for an introductory film class but I guess I don't really have a choice. I know it's my last term of college but I'm trying to finish with a bang nonetheless.

 

One of the classes that I really haven't talked about too much is my weightlifting class, but it is definitely my favorite by far. I'm sitting here trying to write a blog while my body is screaming out in pain. Yesterday in the weight room we did some exercises that I haven't really done before and I am definitely feeling the pain. We did the usual exercises like bench, squats etc., but yesterday, we were just supposed to do one set as slow as possible. I put on much less weight on the bench, and literally moved the bar up and down as slow as humanly possible. It's one of the most tiring things I have ever done and I was more fatigued than I have been all term long. Our teacher was a trainer for the Cincinnati Bengals for a few years, so he definitely knows how to whip people into shape. One of the reasons that I wanted to take a weightlifting class this term is because I wanted to take something that forced me to get up to the gym. One of my biggest problems was that I would always plan on going to the gym but then I wouldn't ever do it. I have a shakeweight of course, but this simply isn't the same as a nice well-rounded workout. Now that I'm in a class, I am forced up to the gym at least two days a week, which is much better than none.

 

The NFL lockout was lifted this morning, so I'm now much more excited about the draft on Thursday. Because the Broncos are so awful, we have the second pick in the draft, and I really wish we could draft Jesus Christ, because that's the kind of savior our franchise needs (Besides you, Tim Tebow).

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Playoff Skid

David R.

April 21, 2011 - 3:04 PM

Well, the Nuggets have played two games in their opening round series and they have already found themselves in a hole. We lost both games against the Thunder in Oklahoma City and now, thankfully, the series will be traveling to Denver. The NBA playoffs are always exciting but they can be pretty frustrating as well. The Portland Trailblazers have found themselves in a similar predicament because they too have found themselves down two games to none as the series moves back to Portland. I have come to know A LOT of Blazer fans during my time at the University of Oregon and I know they are all pretty miffed. Fortunately we can share our misfortunes together as both of our seasons may be days from being over.

 

On the upside though, the Blazers now finally have a second professional franchise to follow after the NBA season is over. For the longest time, the Blazer fans had the Blazers and that's it, and after basketball season there was nothing left to do but wait for it to start up again. However, Portland has recently introduced its second professional sports franchise, the Portland Timbers. I know the season is underway because I saw a game on television the other day. Soccer has never been my favorite sport, but I know a lot of people love it, especially in Portland, because the game I was watching the other day was packed full. I wouldn't say that MLS is as popular across the nation as major league baseball, but at least now the Oregonians have someone else to cheer for when the Blazer train de-rails.

 

My interview with Kroenke Sports was moved to tomorrow morning, so I'll definitely be taking it easy tonight. I need to be fresh when I wake up so I'm trying to go to bed a little early. There is a re-run of the 2011 BCS game on tonight so I'll definitely be watching that. Even though we lost, it was still one of the best games I have ever been at and it's fun to watch it knowing I was there. Football season is over but there aren't too many things that I love more than Oregon football, so watching the games always gets me excited for the next season. I was at work yesterday and I saw all of the security guards standing by the entrances to Autzen Stadium to keep away all of the spectators that may want a peak of practice. Seeing that made me wonder about all of the different tricks Coach Kelly may have up his sleeve for the upcoming season. I have heard that our running backs are looking great and Chip Kelly wants to speed up the tempo of our already speedy offense. Darron Thomas will be back at the reigns of the scoring machine with a year of experience and a BCS appearance under his belt. I know the squad is working hard to get back to another title game next season, and I have decided that I am absolutely, definitely, no doubt about it, 100% going to the football game in Boulder in the fall. You're about to take a train to the face, Buffaloes...

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The Season Moves On

David R.

April 19, 2011 - 4:16 PM

Yesterday I was astounded by the fact that I was able to play in my softball game in sunglasses and a tank top. Yesterday was almost comparable to a summer day and it really lit up my day, literally. The first game of the season was played in the cold rain over by Autzen Stadium and I was soaked after about 10 minutes outside. The weather was certainly on point yesterday, but unfortunately our game wasn't. After winning the opening game of the season, we were absolutely smoked yesterday, with a final score of 15-3. It was pretty ugly, but luckily every team in the league makes it into the playoffs so we have some time to work out the kinks. It really is tough making the transition from baseball to softball. In the first, the ball comes in faster, and straighter, making it easier to hit in my opinion. In softball games, the ball can't make it to the plate fast enough and it comes in on the trajectory comparable to that of a rainbow, not to mention the fact that the bat is much lighter. I'm starting to get the hang of it but it has definitely been a frustrating experience thus far.

 

Tonight I'll be working my first Oregon baseball game of the season. I'm not generally required to work these games because the Diamond Ducks usually take care of what we would be doing. There is a lot that goes on at baseball games so we basically have a separate group of interns that just work baseball games. A few of them are unable to make it tonight so I'm getting thrown into the action. It shouldn't be too crazy (I hope) and at least I'll get some delicious fish n' chips out of it. The food services department recently started selling this fan favorite at the games and it is delicious in my opinion. The servings are big enough even for someone that eats as much as I do and they aren't too expensive. I get them for free luckily, and I can't wait to dig in!

 

I have an interview for a post-graduation job opportunity on Friday morning. I am applying to be a Summer Sales Associate back at the Pepsi Center for the summer. The job is another internship but it is paid and will basically be training for upper-level sales positions within the company. It would be a great opportunity and it would also allow me adequate time to be involved in my job with the Colorado Rockies as well. I enjoyed the job that I had there last summer and I'm sure I would enjoy working there again as well. Speaking of the Colorado Rockies, I don't know if anyone has noticed but we have one of the best records in major league baseball as of late. We have come out hot and our shortstop is one of the best in the game. I know there is a lot of season left, but I'm hopeful that the Rockies can return to the post season and finally bring home some World Series hardware.

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Free Weekend Catchup

David R.

April 14, 2011 - 4:34 PM

Luckily for me, most of the University of Oregon athletic teams are out of town this weekend so I should have a few days to relax and catch up on my homework. Although I am taking a few 100-level classes, I still have a decent amount of work that I need to turn in from week to week.

 

In my poetry class, I have to turn in a response essay every single class period. It isn't too difficult, because I just have to read a poem and write a short, two-paragraph response about it, but it is still relatively hectic to turn something in EVERY class period. I have a weekly journal assignment to write for my films class, as well as the two blogs that I write per week. I enjoy writing and I'll definitely be spending a good deal of time on my computer this term. I have a decent sized project due tomorrow in film class as well as a large essay due next week in my poetry class, so it will be nice to have a relatively open weekend. It has become easier for me not to procrastinate because of the fact that this is my last term in college. Whenever I start in on an assignment, I try to bang through it as fast as possible so that I can go do something fun with my friends during the little time that I have left in Eugene.

 

Yesterday, I stopped by the career fair that was held in the student union on campus. With only seven weeks left of college, it is time to really get in the grind of searching for post-graduation opportunities. Events like this are particularly helpful because it give students the opportunity to speak with real representatives from certain companies that are looking to hire. I was able to drop off a copy of my resume with a few different people, as well as pick up a few business cards, so I now have a few different contacts that I can reach out to when searching for jobs.

 

Every day it seems, especially in the world of professional sports, a different organization has some issue arise that needs some public relations attention. Given that I have taken a good deal of public relations classes, I tend to notice things like this when they appear on news outlets. The most recent example I can think of is the little mishap that took place earlier this week at the Staples Center in Los Angeles when the Lakers took on the San Antonio Spurs. While the Camera was on Bryant after he was called for a technical foul, he was seen making an obscene gesture that turned out to be rather offensive to the gay and lesbian community. The Lakers have surely issued a statement about the incident and are surely trying to fix their image that may have been slightly tainted by Bryant's action. The issue actually came up in a class today and it was suggested that maybe Bryant could speak to a local gay and lesbian community in the greater Los Angeles area. It may be a little difficult to get God's gift to basketball to commit to something like this, but it certainly seems like a good idea to try to quell some of the frustration and repair the image of the Lakers.

 

The day is winding down, and I'd just like to say "Goodbye class, hello weekend!!!"

 

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