Creating Opportunity
Since my last blog post, I had the incredible opportunity to meet with the Executive Vice President of the Philadelphia Phillies. His father was once a part owner of the Phillies and he grew up with the organization. I was able to get in contact with him through my hitting coach, and it emphasized the importance of networking. Just walking through the upstairs offices, which they call the Hall of Fame Club, was an amazing experience. Growing up watching sports, you never realize how much behind the scenes production goes into putting a team on the field every day and running a stadium. When I first got to his office, I realized how nervous I was. I tried to move past it, but I could not shake it until we started a talking. We started our conversation by talking about my hitting coach and softball, so the conversation was very light. It did not take long for me to realize that this was going to an easy conversation and there was nothing to worry about.
Once we started talking, he stopped me and basically asked what I was doing there. I said I was just trying to network with as many people as possible before going back to school in September. We continued to have a thirty-minute conversation, which reassured me that I was on the right path. He said that when he got out of college he was working for the call center for the Phillies. He said he had to work his way up, which is exactly what I am doing now. He gave a metaphor comparing your college years to the decades after college. He even went one step farther and gave me the names and emails of two contacts of people who I should meet with before going back to school. I plan on meeting with these people next week. Overall, I thought it was a great opportunity to talk to someone in the position that I want to be in one day.