Jeremy Reiskind ’17 recently attended the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar (ELS) in Indianapolis, Indiana, held January 24-26, 2018. At the three-day conference, Reiskind, and over 200 other leadership-focused graduate students, heard from industry leaders about careers in college athletics.
Reiskind was selected to attend ELS from a large pool of applicants due to enthusiasm about college sports, high academic honors, and vast undergrad experience. Reiskind established a passion for college athletics between the hedges at Rice University, where he served as President of Rice Rally Club for two years and had various mentors within Rice’s Department of Athletics.
In the classroom, Reiskind’s hard work earned him the 2017 Lindsay Roemmich Sport Management Achievement Award given to a graduating senior at Rice who displays academic excellence in sport management. Additionally, as an undergrad Reiskind worked with the NCAA Final Four, Houston Super Bowl Host Committee, and Yahoo! Sports.
“Rice Sport Management gave me a wonderful foundation that distinguished me from other applications,” Reiskind said. “It taught me about professionalism and how to interact with people in the industry, while allowing me to gain great experience within the field of college athletics.”
The seminar had three main purposes: informing participants about the industry, learning about leadership styles, and building connections. Each of these aspects was highlighted through speakers, assessments, a case competition, and networking. Reiskind was enlightened by various individuals throughout his time in Indianapolis, but one stood out: Meg Stevens, ELS keynote speaker and Athletic Director at Averett University.
“(Stevens) brought a lot of energy,” Reiskind said. “She harped on ‘treating everyone like Aces’, which means to treat everyone the same with the highest amount of respect. We never know who an individual is, who they can become, or who they know.”
Reiskind may not know exactly who he will become in the future, but his time at ELS helped focus his career goals. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Ohio University, the #1 ranked Sport Management graduate program in the world. After graduation, Reiskind hopes to utilize his experience gained from Rice University, Ohio University, and NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar to work with young adults through a sports lens.
Ben Schragger is a junior from Titusville, New Jersey, and is majoring in Sport Management and minoring in Business.