There is no one path to land a good job in the sport industry, but there is only one way to work: hard. An English literature major as an undergraduate at Arizona State University, alumnus Samantha Talavera, ’12, has put in the hours to achieve her success.
While a student in the USF Sport Management Master’s Program, Talavera labored in the luxury suites of both the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Raiders, balancing both jobs and school when MLB and the NFL seasons coincided in the fall. Her industry understanding and educational commitment paid off. She soon transitioned to a content management role with Gossip Sports. Before she graduated, she was a senior producer for Bleacher Report, focusing on the groundbreaking Team Stream mobile application. But after two years, she continued moving up.
At the command post of all things entertainment, Talavera landed a job in Las Vegas with boxing manager/advisor Al Haymon. As Senior Digital Content Strategist at Haymon Boxing Management, she advises the company in their handling of boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr., Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, and others. As she reports, “I work closely with fighters to enhance their social media presence by creating new content and marketing strategies to best suit each fighter. Our ultimate goal is to make each fighter a household name.”
From the looks of it, Talavera and her team are off to a strong start in 2015.