I was a volunteer for the University of Oklahoma Football Recruiting Operations. What this means is that I help out with recruiting operations for the football team. I worked every game day, junior day, football camp, and any other football recruit event. This job was one of the best experiences I have had at OU. It also made me more confident in my decision of wanting to work in the sports world.
As a volunteer, I did not have as many responsibilities as the student recruiting assistants. The SRA's had to complete a certain amount of hours in the office a week and do a lot of paperwork and online research. I was okay with not having all of those responsibilities because at the time I had way too much school work to be doing and I wouldn't have been able to handle all the time and effort it took to hold the assistant position. My responsibilities included: set up and takedown of all recruiting events at OU (football games, junior day, official visits, football camps, etc.), greet all guests that arrive and continue to make them feel welcomed and comfortable, assist with check-in of recruits and family (credentials, tickets, NCAA compliance forms), and help guide them around the facility and out to the field.
The long days may have been tiring, but I felt like I got a behind-the-scenes view of college football. I was able to learn about different recruits, what offers they had, their ranking, where thee were from, and much more. I also had the experience to be in the facility and watch the player's pre-game routine. I was able to listen to the coaches talk to the team, as well as watch the players run out of the tunnel from the locker room and touch the "play like a champion" sign. The best part of it all was I got to be on the field during some of the game.
As you all might tell, I am a die-hard football fan, especially a fan of OU. That may be biased since I attend the university and work for the program, but I have always had faith in the Sooners. This job felt like I won a VIP backstage pass to meet Justin Bieber, but I got to do it every week. A lot of people dream to be able to have the opportunity I had and I am very thankful for it.
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