It was so cool and so tiring, and almost transformative for me.
Yesterday morning, as the Deans Hosts grouped before the tidal wave of work and activities of the Park accepted students day and overnight, our supervisor had a treat for us. The eight or so of us got to hang out and chat with Sal Paolantonio for an hour and a half. It was SO COOL. I was also thanking Papa, because it was thanks to him that I'd read Paolantonio's book over winter break. Two of his daughter's went (or go) to Ithaca, and were both Park students. One is a senior now.
He gave us fascinating advice all wrapped up in these amazing stories. His biggest emphasis was on the power of hand-written thank you notes. It's because of these that Michael Strahan wouldn't speak to any reporters after winning the Super Bowl until he talked to Sal, and said, "I want to speak to Sal because that's the first thank you note I've ever received." Those notes are also how people like Andy Reid will call him first if something's happening. Like that time when he was at an IC parent's weekend and he gets a call from Reid saying he's suspending Terrell Owens for the season, and Park students helped him shoot live shots from campus to break the story on ESPN.
IT WAS SO COOL.
He gave a marketing communications major the names of people to contact, with his reference, to get connected in the PR department at places like Jacksonville and with the Giants.
And the best part?
After the talk, I went up, nervously, and asked him if I could possibly get his card. And he said:
"You know what, you win! I was hoping someone was actually listening and would ask me."
I only freaked out on the inside.
So now, here I am, with Sal Paolantonio's card sitting on my desk. I'm going to write him an thank you note.
From there on, I helped direct students and answer questions in Park for an hour, then hosted a journalism student question and answer session. Then, I picked up my prospective students for the night. A ton of the girls on the floor were also hosting students. We took them down to dinner and down to VIC's Battle of the Bands. We also made a pit stop at this small intimate coffee shop called...Starbucks. It was delicious.
I think we convinced a lot of students yesterday. That's where I made my decision, exactly a year ago. The same event. It was such a surreal day. It required a lot of work and quite a bit of self-reflection. It was cool to look at how far I've come from sitting nervously in a discussion section a year ago, confused and terrified, to a college girl finishing up her second semester and finally figuring out the right path to take.
Sports journalism will have to stay as an option. I mean, now that I have an ESPN national correspondent's cell phone number, and he knows my name.
I guess this is college. It's way crazier than I expected, that's for sure.
Who knew?
