Merson builds sports connections at Atlanta Hawks internship

Posted on Friday, August 30, 2024

Trystin Merson, a junior student-athlete who spent part of his summer interning virtually with the Atlanta Hawks, proves that giving an extra 10% in every task can make all the difference.

“When you take on the work no one else wants to do, you are more likely to get noticed by employers,” he said.

The 10-week internship, known as the Atlanta Hawks Virtual Sales Academy, gives students across the country the chance to learn about the sports business industry.

“The opportunity came about through Stuart Spiers who is on our Sports Management Advisory Team and was the leader in this academy,” he said. “I applied on LinkedIn, went through the virtual interview process. I was one of 20 people selected for the group out of over 600 people.”

During his experience, he got the chance to learn about sales from the perspective of a professional sports organization.

“Members of the Hawks sales team would teach our group different aspects of sales, from prospecting, B2B, sales pitch and resources,” Merson said. “On our Friday meetings, we heard directly from people in different branches of the company, including analytics, marketing and leadership. These people gave us advice and a glimpse into their journey, of what they do and how they got there.”

Associate Sports Management Professor Dr. Clay Bolton described Merson as a high achiever who sets out to get the job done.

“He has an outstanding work ethic inside and outside the classroom,” he said. “Trystin worked tirelessly with game operations in our baseball program and helped with NASCAR weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway this past spring.”

The Sports Management program has taught Merson about the power of networking.

“Making connections and meeting new people has helped me unlock future opportunities,” he said. “The activity within the program and doing the ‘dirty work’ has allowed me to build a resume that represents my work ethic, drive and passions.”

 

Campus Notes

• Political Science students Merideth Baswell, Curt Bonner, Mackenzie England, Katie Gonzalez, Makenzi Maltezo, Ryan Melia, Sosuke Niki, Makayla Page, Jenna Pittman and Eli Rogers contributed to Professor Dr. John Tures’ article "Would the choice of Florida to host a convention change the state's election results?" in the Palm Beach Post on August 23. The students looked at how a state that hosted a convention performed in the election, compared to four years earlier. The article was picked up by USA Today.
• Ratoya Mason ’17, M’20, Director of Counseling and Career Services, recently led a session on “The Importance of Mental Wellness and Self Care in Leaders” at the Love Changes Things leadership breakfast at Callaway Gardens, a community partner with the college. There were 60+ leaders who work at the Pine Mountain resort in attendance, along with staff members from LC’s Student Engagement team.
• The college will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2, in observance of Labor Day. Normal operations will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

 

September Faculty and Staff Birthdays

2-Brandt Briggs, Clinical Mental Health Counseling

3-John Tures, Political Science

3-Melinda Pomeroy-Black, Biology

9-Nickie Cauthen, Biology

14-Laurie Jones Ragan, Human Resources

15-Natalie Magouirk, Information Technology

16-Pam Cox, Human Resources (Payroll)

16-Ratoya Mason, Counseling

17-Margaret Reneke, Art & Design

18-Cindi Bearden, Business Administration & Accountancy

21-Shelia Scott, President’s Office

21-Kimberly Johnson, Career Services

26-Amber Leiker McGlawn, Exercise Science

27-Ronald Stafford, Information Technology

28-Greg McClanahan, Mathematics

 

Sports

Volleyball

The Panthers officially tip off the regular season with a home tri-match against Middle Georgia State University at noon and Pensacola Christian College at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 31.

Men’s Soccer

LC kicks off the regular season with a home match against Pensacola Christian College on Saturday, August 31, at 5 p.m. The Panthers head to Point University on Tuesday, Sept. 3, to play the Skyhawks at 7 p.m.

Women’s Soccer

The Panthers will hit the road to play the University of Mississippi for Women on Sunday, Sept. 1, at 5 p.m. The team will then take on Point University at home on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m.

Golf

The Men’s team is in Kentucky this weekend teeing off their season. The Panthers are playing in the Transylvania Fall Invitational at the University of Kentucky.

LC recently announced the hiring of Aaron Feyes as the Men’s and Women’s Head Golf Coach. Prior to arriving at LaGrange, he worked as the men’s head golf coach at Andrew College in Cuthbert, Georgia.

 

Panther Calendar

(Please note that schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control. Please check www.lagrangepanthers.com to confirm.)

Saturday, August 31 – Men’s Golf at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky

Saturday, August 31 – Volleyball (Home) vs. Middle Georgia State University and Pensacola Christian College, noon, 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., Richter Gym

Saturday, August 31 – Men’s Soccer (Home) vs. Pensacola Christian College, 5 p.m., Panther Field

Sunday, Sept. 1 – Men’s Golf at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky

Sunday, Sept. 1 – Women’s Soccer at Mississippi University for Women, 5 p.m., Columbus, Mississippi

Tuesday, Sept. 3 – Women’s Soccer at Point University, 6 p.m., West Point, Georgia

Tuesday, Sept. 3 – Men’s Soccer at Point University, 7 p.m., West Point, Georgia

 

In the Headlines

LaGrange College Alum Performs at Olympics, LaGrange Daily News, Aug. 24

Category: Academics, Students

Keywords: Business, Athletics