What started out as a long, hour and a half subway ride out of Manhattan and into your soulful city ended up being my favorite day of the summer thus far.

As an MSBA class we were all paired with a mentee from the High School of Sports Management (HSSM), a unique school providing its students with a dynamic environment and experiential learning opportunities in the areas of sports marketing, management, law, medicine, journalism and broadcasting.

My mentee, Donovan, shared with me his experiences at HSSM and his expectation to take the SAT test in the fall and apply to numerous colleges. Walking through the stands at the Brooklyn Cyclones’ MCU Park, I joked with Donovan that he had not felt “real heat” until he came to my hometown of Birmingham, AL.

Following our morning spent with our mentees, many of us joined HSSM’s Saturday brunch which honored industry leaders, community activists and politicians. Many notable names were called, including our very own Ben Sturner (Best in Sports Marketing and Management Award), ESPN insider Adam Schefter (Sport Industry Service Award), New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (Best in Community Service Award) and social entrepreneur Gina Otto (Children’s Advocate of the Year Award).

Met @adamschefter today. Another perk of being a part of @gomsba #MSBA13 twitter.com/lornesegall/st…
— Lorne Segall (@lornesegall) June 8, 2013

During the course of the morning, it was announced that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz delcared June 8 “Brooklyn Changes the World” Day, with 2013 as its inaugural year. The event, spearheaded by HSSM’s senior class students, was very professionally done with excellent food.

After all the notable awards were handed out, the brunch was capped by the riviting words of Civil Rights Attorney Richard Bertstein: “The greatest gift we have in life is how we choose to react to those things that have been chosen for us.”

All this was a great segway to the afternoon’s main event: the celebrity softball game, which featured a host of NFL players: Andre Brown(NY Giants running back), Keith Rivers(NY Giants linebacker), Stevie Brown (NY Giants defensive back) and Chris Canty(Baltimore Ravens defensive end).

The softball game was a great chance for everyone to relax, have some fun and really take in the new social changes that were occurring in Brooklyn. I sat right above the dugout, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the day. The weather, as you can see below, was beautiful. But the confidence in the eyes of the kids was quite inspiring. As we’ll continue to learn throughout the summer, there are many facets to the sports industry. Studying public relations and social entrepreneurship at UNC Chapel Hill, I’m happy we were able to experience the educational non-profit, social sector of the business first-hand today.

As a joking side note, Ben was selected to throw out the first pitch of the softball game. Would you believe it didn’t make it to home plate? I think he was a little too excited! 🙂

Keep up the great work, Brooklyn. The whole world is watching now.