Another year in the books at IU – my time as an undergrad is dwindling

Last week consisted of just four finals for me at Indiana University. Six semesters down, just two to go.

What everyone says about college is true. They really are the best and fastest years of your life. With a the label ‘senior’ now aside my name, I’ll be turning 22 mid-June.

In high school, I was always looking forward to the next day, the next year and finally college. Now in college, I’m hoping each day goes slower than last in attempt to soak in everything.

My time at IU has special, times I am very thankful for and that will hopefully help push me ahead of the competition.

This year I broadcast 19 various Hoosiers sporting event including field hockey, soccer, football, and men’s and women’s basketball.

I enjoyed my classes much more during my junior year. After completing all of the pre-requisites and requirements in my first two years, just this semester I took sports law, sports marketing and sports public relations.

Thanks to Kit Klingelhoffer, my sports PR class was by far the most interesting and helpful moving forward of them all. Klingelhoffer has worked at IU for 41 years and I was fortunate to take his last class as he begins a retirement faze. Formerly the sports information director under Bob Knight for many years, Kit clearly knows the business.

The highlight of the year, career wise, had to be joining my idol, Don Fischer, on the IU radio network for the Akron football broadcast. Usual pre-game, halftime and postgame host Joe Smith had to miss the game because his daughter was getting married, which allowed myself the opportunity to keep his seat warm. The gig was one I will never forget and maybe I’ll get the chance to do again.

Jeremy Gray was huge in providing great broadcasting jobs both with the Big Ten Network and webstream at IUHoosiers.com. Gray, also a North Central grad, allowed me to join him on home women’s basketball broadcasts that I wasn’t already doing for the BigTenNetwork.com.

I also completed my second year working in the great IU media relations office. I volunteered in the office twice a week with the first-class group of about 10. I also worked every game day for football and basketball. I do enjoy the media relations side of things but my passion is in broadcasting.

Moreover, just a month ago, I was a part of the IU Sports Marketing Alliance club that took a networking trip to the Washington D.C. and Baltimore area. While out there we met with the Orioles, Nationals, and Sirius/XM Radio for example.

Next year will hopefully be the best yet. I plan to do even more broadcasts, including the two men’s basketball games on the Big Ten Network. After a three-year hiatus, I also hope to have a radio show on the college station, WIUX. I had a sports talk show for two years in high school but got away from it at IU.

First up, I am “taking my talents” and looking to learn even more with an internship at WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis. The last two summers I have had fantastic experiences at ESPN 1070 the Fan and WISH-TV. I will be covering everything sports in Indy such as the Indianapolis 500, NBA draft, and Colts training camp. And to make the summer even better, I will continue my work with the Indiana Fever, taking care of the team on game days as well as the visiting teams and officials.

I also can’t forget about right here, VigilantSports.com. The site continues to get bigger and better thanks to more writers and our loyal readers. We have some big changes coming in the next few weeks.

My junior year at IU was thrilling but now I’m focused on making every day better. This time next year, I hope to have my first full-time job locked down – scary the “real world” is just one year away.