May 30, 2024
Maggie Franks, a junior from Huntington, West Virginia, is making waves both in and out of the pool at Shawnee State University. Majoring in Sport Management, Franks is also a member of the women’s swimming team and the SportsNet athletic media program. She originally decided to attend SSU as it was close to home and she had the opportunity to continue her athletic career in the swimming program.
“I committed to the team during its first competitive year,” she said. “So, I have been given the opportunity to watch it expand from the beginning years.”
Aligning her sport and academic interests together, Franks found it easy to decide to major in Sport Management. Minoring in coaching and journalism, she thrives on broadcasting sporting events, as well as writing game reviews. In her future career, her dream is to include both her journalism and broadcasting skills, allowing her to tell captivating stories while covering exciting sporting events.
“My favorite thing to do is write people’s stories, especially in a sporting context,” she said. “I will literally talk to anyone, so I have been able to use that to my advantage along my journalistic path.”
Combining her educational goals with her natural ability to connect with others and engage in open dialogue, Franks values how her classes provide her hands-on experiences.
“One of my favorite teachers is Christy Zempter,” she said. “She runs her journalism class similarly to a real newsroom, along with the typical lecture style. So we are getting real world experiences during the classes.”
Connecting with her classmates and professors in the classroom thanks to small class sizes, Franks feels the Sport Management program serves as a versatile gateway to diverse career paths and is excited to see where her degree can launch her career.
To learn more about the Sport Management program at Shawnee State University, visit shawnee.edu/sport-management.