2015 GNAC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
GNAC Hosts Successful Second Women In Sports Seminar
Bridget Johnson Tetteh, associate commissioner of the GNAC, addresses the
crowd at the conference’s second Women In Sports Career Seminar, held in
January in Portland.
Over 150 young women from the Pacific Northwest, all with an interest in a
career in sports, attended the second GNAC Women In Sports Career Seminar.
PORTLAND, Ore.. – The Great
Northwest Athletic Conference, in
association with the Portland Trail
Blazers, hosted the 2015 “Women in
Sports” seminar at Memorial Coliseum in
Portland in January.
The event was designed for high
school and college-aged women interested
in sports-related careers. The seminar
provided an opportunity for attendees
to network and learn from working
professionals in a wide range of fields
across the sports industry.
More than 150 women from the U.S.
and Canada attended the event, now in its
second year.
“We had high-hopes for this year’s event and we’ve received
nothing but positive feedback,” event coordinator and assistant
GNAC commissioner Bridget Tetteh said. “Our goal was to provide
learning and networking opportunities for young women looking to
break into the sports field and I think everyone who attended this
event, including our panelists, benefited from this experience.”
These young adults had a chance to meet-and-greet with 24
female professionals in fields such as coaching, administration,
business and international/external operations in small-group
settings.
Whitney Wagoner, the senior instructor and program manager of
the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon,
opened the five-hour seminar with an inspirational keynote address,
ultimately advising attendees that “it is a competitive industry and
opportunities are hard to come by. You have to be very proactive
and work very hard to create opportunities for yourself.”
Wagoner went on to tell the participants that realizing one’s
professional dreams “is singularly up to
you ... your job search, your professional
development, your career path.”
After panelists were introduced in
groups associated with their field, the
seminar was split into 10 different
sessions where students had a chance
to talk with these professionals for 15
minutes at a time.
Panelists from the Trail Blazers, Nike,
The Oregonian, Portland Timbers, Red
Bull and administrators and coaches from
various colleges and universities were
present.
Panelist Katie Simons, the Portland
Timbers & Thorns media relations coordinator, gave some advice
for her guests stating “no matter what, follow your heart, your
passion and don’t be surprised if you end up somewhere you didn’t
think you would.”
The attendees also sat through a professional development
segment and networking reception sponsored by Enterprise Rent-ACar explaining how students should “never stop learning, even after
your schooling is over.”
Even though the seminar ended at around 6, the night was
not over for the attendees. The young women were treated to the
Portland Trail Blazers-Washington Wizards NBA game at the Moda
Center, located across the street from Memorial Coliseum, after the
conclusion of the conference.
“The connections these women made with our 23 panelists
are invaluable to them,” Tetteh said. “Hearin