May 12, 2009
With the sports industry becoming one of the largest and fastest
growing industries in the world, students from all over the country
are coming to St. John’s with plans to pursue a degree in sport
management. The popularity of the College of Professional Studies’
undergraduate sport management program prompted the college to
expand the program to include a graduate component; which allows
students to pursue their education at St. John’s and receive their
Master of Professional Studies in Sport Management at St.
John’s University.
“I am
extremely proud of the success of the graduate program. We have
achieved in two years what we had planned to do in five in terms of
successfully preparing students for sport management careers. We
couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Anthony Missere,
Associate Professor and Director of the Sports Management Hotel,
Restaurant, Sports, Travel and Tourism department.
The students from the graduating class of 2009 are: Koshin Egal,
Thomas Lally, Mathew Letkowski, Steve Olwell, Maciej Sliwinski and
Rebecca Stewart.
As part of their graduation requirements, the students had to
present ePortfolios – a vital element of the program that provides
students with the tools to record and organize evidence of their
long-term professional development online. The portfolios,
presented on April 30, were an opportunity for the students to
reflect on their work throughout the program and share with faculty
and administrators all of their hard work and achievements
throughout the program.
Among the six students graduating from the program, Maciej
Sliwinski and Rebecca Stewart have already reaped the benefits of a
graduate degree in sport management. Maciej - who completed the
internship option with a specialization in coaching leadership -
interned at the Brooklyn Italians Soccer Club and was later hired
as Director of Coaching for the Brooklyn Italians Soccer Club.
“There is no question that I'm leaving the program very happy after
these past two years. I established great relationships with
professors, administrators and students and was close to all of the
major sporting events: Red Bulls, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets,
Yankees and Mets. No other school or program can offer as much as
St. John’s University.”
Rebecca completed the thesis option with a specialization in
international dimensions and was recently accepted to be a graduate
assistant for The University of Northern Colorado Ph.D. Sport
Administration Program this fall. Without the support of faculty
and administrators from the program Rebecca says she would have
never gotten to this point in her career.
“I eventually want to become a professor in sport management.
Getting my graduate degree from St. John’s has been a huge step
forward in pursuing my goal. The professors in the graduate sport
management program were instrumental throughout the entire Ph.D.
application process,” said Rebecca.
Centered in New York City, the sports capital of the world, St.
John’s University provides students with a well-formed knowledge
base in both the functional and experiential areas of international
dimensions of sport management and coaching leadership.
For more information about St. John’s graduate sport management
program, please visit the graduate College of Professional Studies
Web site.