Sport Management Career Night a Success

St. John’s University students and alumni gathered in record numbers recently as the Division of Sport Management recently hosted a Sport Management Career Night on the Queens, NY, campus. 

“We haven’t seen attendance like this since 2017 or 2018,” said David P. Hedlund, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Division of Sport Management, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies. “I was happy to see such a large population of students. We want to facilitate as many connections as possible.”

This evening included 20 speakers with different ties to St. John’s. It included professionals in various positions on professional sports teams, in athletic departments and youth sports, and more.

Michael Fahid ’01Ed, ’13MS, Assistant Dean, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business; Adjunct Professor, Division of Sport Management; and Director, Red Storm Baseball Camp, was one of the guest speakers. “I loved it,” he said. “Bringing together people of all ages and creating a strong diversity of speakers and students made a big difference.”

Mr. Fahid was pleased to see so many students attending the event. “It shows how many students care about making connections and networking,” he said. “It also shows how St. John’s cares about its students and their future careers.”

This year’s event was unique due to its “speaker rotation” format; each speaker visited a new group of students every seven or eight minutes. “I enjoyed the format,” said Joseph Pellumbi ’23CCPS, another guest speaker. “Rotating speakers can be more beneficial than having long lines of students waiting to talk to specific people. In addition, the students also get a chance to network and build relationships with each other, which is just as important.”

Mr. Pellumbi also enjoyed sharing his personal experience with students. “The St. John’s Sport Management program was very committed to providing me with the skills, tools, and knowledge needed for me to succeed.”