At first, I worried about how to write a blog post for a day I did not have to go to work. Since Mission Athletecare gives interns Fridays off, it leaves open a massive amount of free time. Luckily, it ended up being a very productive and exciting 24 hours.

“This was a microcosm of what MSBA has taught me: network with anyone and everyone possible.”

I woke up early to prepare for a business call with Ron Erskine, vice president of SJX Partners. SJX specializes in sales and sponsorships. I found out through my mentor, Max Paulsen of the NFL, that Ron was a North Carolina-Chapel Hill alumnus and as a fellow Tar Heel, I wanted to reach out and connect. This was a microcosm of what MSBA has taught me: network with anyone and everyone possible.

After a successful conversation, I went to lunch with one of my friends from school and we spent an hour catching up. I then went back to the MSBA dorms to kill some time before a group of us headed down to Leverage Agency. MSBA Co-Founder Ben Sturner had invited the class to his son, William’s first birthday party and I must say, he really does have Ben’s eyes!

From there, we traversed to Citi Field for a speaker panel consisting of New York Mets executives. I gleaned a ton of information concerning the team’s sponsorship protocol and how the organization competes with other entities such as the Yankees, MSG, and the Barclays Center. Afterwards, we had the privilege of watching the Mets go head-to-head with the Cincinnati Reds and it could not have been more ideal a night for baseball.

It was an awesome way to spend a Friday and I am very grateful for what MSBA has done for our class. I find myself getting a little more tired as each week passes but my MSBA friends are amazing people who make all the work worth it. The second half of the summer should be just as fun as the first!