Garnet Feature Friday - Alumni Q&A With Jimmy Gill '10
Swarthmoreathletics.com is proud to present Garnet Feature Friday, a series that will highlight past Garnet teams, notable Garnet alumni, and current student-athletes. This week is the first installment of Garnet Alumni Q&A, where we catch up with notable alumni from Swarthmore Athletics. This week, we catch up with former all-conference baseball player Jimmy Gill '10 and find out about his job in the Rutgers Department of Athletics.
Q: What exactly is your position with Rutgers?
A. I am currently an assistant director of athletic communications at Rutgers, working with the football, baseball and gymnastics programs. I handle all of the content on the website for my sports - including press releases, stats, biographies, records and more. Another major part of my job is working with the media in a public relations function to assist them and promote the teams I work with. During home events, I manage the press box and perform various tasks throughout the game and after. No two days are ever the same in this field and you never know what might happen each day when you come into the office. I do enjoy the unpredictability.
Q: How has your Swarthmore education benefited your
current career? What experiences, classes, mentors have been
translated into your career?
A. Having an education from Swarthmore has definitely benefited my
career. The strong reputation of the school carries weight
everywhere. I've always believed that since I got through Swat, I
could successfully navigate my career from there. One thing
specifically that I learned that has helped me is time management.
The work load in college was very demanding and involved
papers/problem sets/projects from all different subjects. That's
similar now in that I have three different sports with different
needs to be fulfilled. Also being a student-athlete myself, I can
relate to what the players and coaches go through on a daily
basis.
Q:As a sports information/athletic communications
professional what memorable, envy-inspiring experiences have you
encountered?
A. The best parts of my job are being paid to go to sporting
events and the travel involved. I've gotten a chance to visit some
great campuses so far and look forward to seeing new ones going
forward. Some of the highlights in my career include working the
BCS Football National Championship, NCAA tournament for men's
basketball, baseball and volleyball, and being able to work
sidelines during Miami Hurricanes football games. In addition,
working in athletic communications has led me to meet a lot of new
people all over. Networking is essential to moving up the
ladder.
Q: What advice would you have for liberal arts
undergrads who are interested in working in the sports
world?
A. Having a liberal arts background can lead a person in any
direction. I was a Political Science major at Swarthmore, but took
all different types of classes that introduced me to many subjects.
Since I always was interested in sports, I often found an angle
where I could tie athletics into a paper or project. My thesis was
actually title "Congress, the Courts and Baseball" looking at labor
issues throughout the history of Major League Baseball. Not sure
many had done that type of topic before at Swat. To enter the
sports world, I would recommend volunteering at as many events as
possible to gain experience, network and earn the trust of others.
There are many different types of jobs in the field ranging from
communications, tickets, compliance, marketing and more. You just
have to find the right type of niche and work hard to move up.
Q: The Jimmy Gill Memorial Award is a very sought-after
honor among the current athletics student-workers – what
“keys to success” do you have to offer?
5. Haha, I would say the main keys to success in that would be a
good listener and pay close attention to detail. Everyone has their
assigned role in communications and if you master one, it is most
likely you will be rewarded with more trustworthy, challenging
tasks. You have to pay your dues early on and go from there.
Additionally, being there on-time is very important - that can't be
underestimated.
Know an alum that would be a great subject for Garnet Alumni Q&A? Let us know at athletics@swarthmore.edu
PREVIOUS FRIDAY FEATURES
Garnet Flashback - the 1997-98 Women's Track & Field Team
Swat Spotlight - Victor Brady, Mr. Swarthmore Athletics
Garnet Sports Show - A Public Service Announcement on Squirrels
