In this episode of My First Job in Sports, Dr. G and host Neil Schwartz spoke with Sallie Gordon. Sallie is the CEO and owner of World Sports Travel, a company she founded after the COVID pandemic, driven by her passion for sports, travel, and event management. With over 15 years of experience, Sallie's career includes operations in collegiate athletics at the Division I, Division II, Division III, and NAIA levels, and she has a strong background in organizing international tours and college basketball tournaments.

Sallie's academic journey began at Georgetown College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management, and she later joined the Sports Administration program at Georgia State University. At Georgia State, Sallie discovered her passion for working in sports. She was actively involved with the marketing department at Georgia Tech and completed her master's internship as an Events Intern for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). During this internship, she successfully managed and organized the WBCA High School All-America Basketball Game, which sparked her love for event management and sports travel.

My First Job in Sports is Presented by SBRnet.

In this episode of My First Job in Sports, Dr. G. and I spoke with Luca De laPena. Luca currently works for Austin FC of the MLS as a CRM specialist, providing data and analytics support to various business aspects of the team to help generate revenue and maintain their existing customer base. A graduate of the S3 Sports Management program at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Luca noted that he has always been good with numbers and enjoys solving problems mathematically. He has turned this skill into a practical platform for his first job in sports with the Sacramento Kings and then with Austin FC. Luca also discussed the value of networking and establishing a relationship with a mentor in the pursuit of his first position and current role. Luca also describes himself an introvert and discussed how he was able to overcome his shyness and establish goals in pursuit of his first job and his current one.

My First Job in Sports is Presented by SBRnet.

It was sort of a homecoming for Dr. G. on Episode 34 of My First Job in Sports. Demarieh Wesley, who is currently working for the New Jersey Devils was our guest. It just so happens that Demarieh attended Hampton University, which is where Dr. G. was an under-grad. Needless to say there were a lot of inside Hampton references.

If there was any single message that came from the show is that Demarieh got involved. Throughout the interview he stressed the importance of getting involved on all sorts of things that were both academic and non-academic.

It’s easy to see why Demarieh has established himself in marketing and sales for the NJ Devils. Currently, Demarieh works as an Inside Sales Associate for the New Jersey Devils. Before joining the Devils, he completed internships with the Chicago Bulls as a Membership Service Associate, at Southern Methodist University as a Football Operations Intern, and at the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center as a Facility Operations Intern. He also worked with Position Sports, participating in the Dream Program, where he spent a week in Phoenix, Arizona, assisting at the NASCAR Championship.

My First Job in Sports is Presented by SBRnet.