From Electrical Engineering to ESPN: Sometimes Things Don’t Work Out Like You Planned

As high school graduation approached, teachers all asked me, “What do you want to do when you leave here?” I was expected to make a decision that would affect the rest of my life when only a couple weeks ago I still had to ask to use the bathroom.

For a large part of my life of course I had those dreams that every kid has. You know—the usual rock star, athlete, comedian, fire fighter and all that good stuff. I especially wanted to be a baseball player, but, of course, I’m not 6’4” throwing a ball 95 mph or hitting 20 home runs each season. I quickly decided I might have to find another career plan.

What I lacked in a pro-level build and skills, I made up for in math skills. I always enjoyed the mathclasses that revolved around circuits and electricity. Naturally, I decided that a career as an electrical engineer was the job for me. My uncle worked as a senior vice president at a big engineering company as an environmental engineer. He traveled constantly, and visited some of the most beautiful places on our planet. I wanted that life: constantly being on the go and seeing places that I’ve never been to before. The best part of all of it though? He made a lot of money.

Passion, mixed with travel perks and a sweet salary? It seemed almost too perfect.

That’s because it was too good to be true. I took AP calculus in high school and struggled. I spent countless nights doing endless homework and studying for exams. Even then I barely go by with B’s and C’s. I realized then that I could not see myself spending the rest of my life doing math. I needed to start looking for my career elsewhere.

My parents were always extremely helpful in helping me with any problem I had. I took my anxieties about my career path straight to them. My dad said, “Don’t go into something for the money. Do something you love; the money will come, and you will be excited to go to work every day.” That resonated with me. I immediately decided to look into what I could do with sports.

I began watching ESPN religiously, looking for any sort of guidance in the world of sport’s journalism, and later found my idol Stuart Scott. He worked as an anchor at ESPN and reported on everything from the Super Bowl to NBA Finals to the World Series. It just clicked one day that I could see myself waking up each morning going to work and just talking sports. I began applying to colleges as a broadcast journalism major.

Right around Thanksgiving of my senior year in high school, I got a huge package in the mail…TEMPLE BOUND. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I found out that I would get to study journalism in the City of Brotherly Love. I get to work with a camera in my classes and do some editing to create videos for TV. I hone my skills as an on-camera host by working with the university’s TV station. I report on all things sports from the ups and downs of Temple’s men’s basketball and football team. The curriculum also allows me to explore other aspects of journalism like design, magazine writing and radio hosting.

Of course, all these things I hope will build up to something. I hope to excel in my field like my ESPN broadcaster idol Stuart Scott. I want to someday follow in his footsteps and work in Bristol, Connecticut as an anchor at ESPN. I want to do all the traveling and work March Madness tournaments, Super Bowls, World Series and all the regular season games in between.

With this job, I know that I can wake up every morning with a smile on my face, and for me that is worth so much more than a paycheck.