With only two weeks left, I am realizing how much I have learned through MSBA that will be invaluable to my professional growth and development. While reflecting on the last six weeks, the part of the program that I have come to value the most is the quality of the guest speakers that I’ve had the privilege of meeting. This week, I was lucky enough to connect with a fellow Michigan Wolverine from the class of 1997, Seth Jacobs, who is a Corporate Consultant at Creative Arts Agency (CAA) and facilitated the biggest venue deal in sports history between Madison Square Garden and JPMorgan Chase. He was joined by Frank Nakano, a Senior Vice President of Sports & Entertainment Marketing at JPMorgan Chase for an engaging Speaker Series Panel.

“I am realizing to what degree the knowledge I have gained through MSBA and the skills I have gained through my internship will serve me in the coming years.”

As an intern at the Garden, I had always wondered why JPMorgan Chase was MSG’s main sponsor, and the duo was able to share intriguing insights as to why the companies are a compatible pair. The two share New York as their home base and have serve similarly diverse clients. Additionally, they are both experts in their fields, as Madison Square Garden is the mecca of sports venues and JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States.

Learning more about the Garden and the logistics of the deal hit close to home for me as an intern at MSG. With only four short weeks left in my internship, I am realizing to what degree the knowledge I have gained through MSBA and the skills I have gained through my internship will serve me in the coming years. Thanks to inflow of sports knowledge from my MSBA community, I have found that I am able to confidently carry myself at the office and discuss sports business with my colleagues. Even further, the people that I have met and the relationships that I have built will have a lasting impact on me personally and professionally. I can’t wait to see what the final two weeks will bring.