Campus News
New pathway in sports management opens up career possibilities for GHC students Georgia Highlands College began providing students an opportunity to enter the growing world of sports management by introducing the Sports Management Pathway this fall. “This program was developed to meet a growing need of professionals that are interested in a career in business and sports/fitness,” Department Chair of Kinesiology and Wellness Lisa Jellum said. “This pathway allows for graduates to pursue a career in sports taking on a multitude of roles, including a coach, booking agent, event coordinator, fitness professional, facilities manager, sport marketing professional, sales coordinator, or serving in guest relations.” Sports management is more than professional athletes and ball games. It’s a big business full of huge budget decisions and complex negotiations in which managers will need to draw on their knowledge of health, fitness, business, and law. Graduates of the Sports Management Pathway may go on to organize the Super Bowl, work for the New York Yankees, or build a facility plan for a major college
or university. Other graduates, for example, may seek to oversee and manage their local city’s youth basketball league or recreation department. “Getting a degree in Sports Management is a great move for people wanting to be involved with both the business side of the field, including marketing, management and ownership, as well as sports and recreation,” Jellum said. “There are lucrative job opportunities for people in this field of study.” Sports management calls for the combination of skills related to planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, and evaluating within the context of an organization or department whose primary product or service is related to sport or physical activity. Students who complete the pathway will be prepared to continue their education and expand their career opportunities by transferring into bachelor programs in areas such as Sports Management, Recreation Administration, Fitness Leadership, Outdoor Recreation Management, or Leisure Studies. The pathway may be completed in two years.
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The courses will be taught by Ingram as well as Assistant Professor of Humanities Amy Gandolfi. Ingram, a film scholar, has been with GHC for years working in technology while also working independently as a writer, director, and producer for the film and television industry. He is well known in the Rome community as the director of the Rome International Film Festival (RIFF), which celebratesits 17th year in November 2020. Gandolfi, also a film scholar, taught the courses Film History, Film Aesthetics and Analysis, and Media, Ethics and Society at Georgia State University. Among other courses within the GHC’s Communication Department, she has been teaching Introduction to Mass Communication at GHC since 2014. In addition to instructors with a history in film, Georgia Highlands College has a track record of
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graduating students with undeniable talent in the field. For example, alumnus Keitravis Squire coowns the independent production company Imprint Studios and has received numerous accolades and awards for his work. His short film, “Midnight Blue,” won numerous awards, including Best Film Noir Short, Gold Award in the April 2018 Independent Shorts Awards, Special Mention in the 2018 Global Shorts competition, and recognition as a Semi-Finalist in the 2018 Los Angeles CineFest. “The Film Studies Pathways at GHC have already been met with an overwhelming response and the classes filled up quickly for the fall 2020,” Ingram said. “As the program continues to grow, GHC hopes to expand the offerings and the program in the not-so-distant future.”