It’s crazy to think we only have 3 weeks left. It feels like just yesterday we were moving into the dorms, wide-eyed and excited, but completely clueless as to what this summer would hold. I can honestly say, 33 days later, this has been the most worthwhile summer of my life.

“If you’re interested in working in sports, its foolish not to apply.”

What started out as a group of 24 strangers, quickly became a tight knit entourage. From weekend trips around the city, to pickup basketball games in Harlem, to adventures out in Coney Island, it was apparent from day 1 that this summer would be one I’d never forget. And I haven’t even mentioned our programming yet…

When I applied for this program, honestly, I hadn’t done much background research; I had seen a post for it on my schools career center portal and read about it in an article published on Forbes.com, which cited MSBA as a great way for young professionals to break into the sports industry. As a huge sports fan, I figured why not apply, and after going through the interview process and being accepted, I was expecting to get a handful of worthwhile speaker panels or field trips over the 8 weeks…

I have never been more wrong in my life. Not only was I admitted to a program with 20+ of the brightest young sports professionals from across the country, but also, within the first 5 weeks of the program, I had gotten the opportunity to meet and hear from an ESPN analyst, the COO of Jordan brand’s PR firm, representatives from Madison Square Garden, a panel from the Mets, the NBA’s TMBO department (at their offices), a VP at HBO Sports, an Executive Producer of the NFL, the CCO of SME, a VP at BSN, and countless other unbelievably successful and prominent professionals throughout the sports industry (including the agent who authored the initial Forbes article that got me to apply to the program in the first place).

I would have considered it a successful summer had I heard from just one of these speakers, yet we’ve had over 25 incredible events, and we still have 3 weeks left! If you’re interested in working in sports, its foolish not to apply. Friends, experiences, and opportunities like these simply do not exist outside of MSBA. It’s been truly overwhelming, and much like Marshawn Lynch said after his game against the Panthers, all I can say is… I’m thankful.