SEC Career Tour Exposes Gamecocks to Opportunities
A pair of South Carolina student-athletes took a step toward building their future after athletics by taking part in the SEC Career Tour in Atlanta recently. Gamecock junior Anna Holman from volleyball and senior David Olds from track and field were among the two student-athletes from each SEC school that were selected to take part in the program, which offered advice on career options, job opportunities and exposure to different work environments while giving them the chance to meet with human resources recruiters and submit resumes for possible future employment.
David Olds, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Anna Holman.
“They brought us out to visit the headquarters of different businesses across Atlanta to network with individuals that work there and network with the other student-athletes,” said Olds, who is majoring in political science and geography with a minor in business administration. “It was a way to learn some professional development skills and get tips to improve your toolkit for after graduation. When I graduate, I’d like to be in social impact strategy or community engagement for an organization or corporation.”
“I had seen a little bit about the Career Tour in the past and the level of investment the SEC puts into this to make it a great experience,” said Holman, who is studying marketing and business management. “I really wanted to take advantage of this resource. I assumed it would be great exposure and a really great point of learning for me, and I was right. After college, I’m hoping to do product marketing in the tech industry.”
There were presentations from business leaders that were helpful for the student-athletes in learning how to transition from being a student-athlete, competing a very high level, to being an effective team member at a company or organization. The student-athletes also took tours and visited executives from the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, and Atlanta Hawks, Hope Depot, and Delta Airlines.
“The whole experience exposed me to a lot of different corporate environments,” Holman said. “It showed me a lot of behind-the-scenes things about how they operated. We were at a Home Depot panel in their headquarters, and there was a former student-athlete from Georgia Tech who talked about how he wished could have taken more risks and talked about his career and how he learned that he is more than just an athlete. That was very impactful because each student-athlete there was looking to better themselves beyond their sport.”
“It’s all about expanding your network and being useful for other people, and then being useful for you.”
– David Olds
“One of the biggest takeaways for me was Randy Haynes’ (President Serviam Partners consulting firm) presentation about how form business and personal relationships,” Olds said. “It’s all about expanding your network and being useful for other people, and then being useful for you. One thing that stood out from what he said was, ‘do more listening, do less telling.’ It goes to the point of listening to understand versus listening to respond. It’s a good reminder to listen to different perspectives that other people bring to the table and how that can make you a better person, but also form better relationships with people.”
“The Atlanta Hawks is a very community-oriented sports team. To visit an environment where community is at the forefront of their mission, proves to me that there is space for individuals who have a passion for sports and service. They encompass a lot of what I’m really looking to get into, and they do it really well.”
Olds was selected 2021 Southeastern Conference Track and Field Community Service Team and has been highly involved in service projects throughout his collegiate and high school career.
While the three-day event went by quickly, Olds and Holman carried home a useful experience that will benefit them as they move out of athletics and into their chosen professions.
“I was really appreciative of the opportunity,” Olds said. “One thing that resonated with me on my drive back from Atlanta was when we were eating lunch at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they had pictures of us competing in our sports on the jumbotron. We were listening to some executives from Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Atlanta Falcons, and they told us about their career paths and things they wished they had heard as a college student. It was overwhelming and gave me a sense of appreciation for all the people that came before me and provided me the opportunities to be where I wanted to be in that moment. It was a sense of gratitude for people like my mom, and people who I’ve worked with who have given me the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.”
“Seeing myself on the big video screen almost brought tears to my eyes because I was so happy and overwhelmed by the effort they had put into every little detail for the tour,” Holman said. “I have my heart set on working in one kind of industry, but who knows if I will end up liking that. The beauty of this tour is that we were exposed to a lot of different industries, not just sports. That variety of exposure will help me later. The interests that were piqued made me realize that I don’t want to limit myself.”
