shutterstock_569570851
January is National Mentoring Month, and this year, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, announced its Mentoring Amplifies campaign in partnership with American Student Assistance. The Mentoring Amplifies campaign aims to honor people who help shape the lives of young adults, ensuring that every student has equal access to opportunities like college, clubs, sports, and internships.
Last fall, nine students from Hampton University were selected to participate in Position Sport’s Diversity Recognition Equality Activism Mentorship (DREAM) Program. In addition to Hampton, Winston Salem State University, Howard University, Delaware State University, and Johnson C. Smith University also had students in the historically Black college and university (HBCU) DREAM program. According to Hampton, a total of 21 sports management and marketing students participated in the virtual internship.
“With much of the country’s education shifting to online learning, at least to start this upcoming semester, we thought this would be a great opportunity to help guide future sports professionals through our company platform,” said Natalie Blair, sports marketing manager of Position Sports. “We felt that it was important to cultivate new partnerships with our nation's HBCUs and to give those students greater access to more opportunities in the sporting industry.”
Over a 10-week period, each student was paired with a member of the Position Sports team as an advisor, based on the student’s area of interest.
The mentors shared examples of prior and current work with clients and assisted the students with identifying and perfecting key skills for their job path. Position Sports hopes to then a few of the top students to gain in-person experience at one of their major events in the spring of 2021.
Position Sports is a sports marketing firm based in Phoenix, AZ that works with Nike, Jordan Brand, Major League Baseball, Little League International, the Basketball Hall of Fame, and USA Basketball, among others. The firm specializes in digital engagement, sports strategy, event operations, and media relations.
“We are extremely proud of all of our students and alumni for their acceptance into the inaugural DREAM Mentorship program with Position Sports. This is the type of success that Hamptonians gain through hard work, perseverance, and dedication. This program will give them a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn first-hand the inner workings of professional sports,” said Hampton University President, Dr. William R. Harvey.
Hampton University HBCU DREAM Participants: Alyssa Sweeney Andrew Irvings DeMari Walker Grant Sullivan Jeremiah Carter Ka’ena Farmer Sade Means Sydney Jackson Terris Sanders