Last Thursday, sports video reporter for The Oregonian, Jen Beyrle visited the UO AWSM Chapter. She sat down with our group and discussed her career and the path she got there and then answered questions from meeting attendees. Here are the five biggest takeaways from the meeting:

1. Everyone has a different path to having the career they want or they want or their dream job, their is no right or wrong way.
2. The more you can do the better, employers value someone who can has multiple skills and abilities in the sports media industry.
3. Be patient. If you work hard, things will come to you.
4. “You are going to make mistakes, it’s going to happen. “But learning from them is very important.”
5. The best interviews are when it’s like a conversation, make sure you are prepared and have done your research. But the more like a conversation it is, the better.

The UO AWSM chapter hosted another successful meeting on January 25 when they hosted a Skype session with USA Today college sports reporter Nicole Auerbach.

Attendees enjoyed listening to Nicole talk about her path to journalistic success in a variety of sports, and got to ask her questions in a conversation Q&A. From learning about her internship experience to tips on building effective relationships while networking, here’s what we took away from the meeting:

1. Take the time to build out your network with your colleagues. For example, players and coaches because they are some of the people that can help you later on in your career.

2. Remember to give yourself credit for the work you produce. Don’t be overwhelmed with any surrounding negativity.

3. Know it’s okay to take time for yourself, but don’t feel guilty about maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

4. Many experiences in the journalism industry happen by going out and practicing your craft.

5. Having a passion for what you do makes your job more enjoyable.

Thank you, Nicole!

UO AWSM hosted a successful meeting on November 9 during a Cover Letter Workshop led by UO AWSM’s advisor Lori Shontz. The meeting gave attendees a chance to read their cover letters and receive feedback from board members on what they did well and what improvements they can make to make their letters more effective.

Here are five things that we took away from the workshop:

1. Think about your cover letter as a lede, it tells your story.
2. Be modest about your accomplishments but don’t brag.
3. The cover letter isn’t your resume but do talk about your path to where you are now.
4. Make your nut graf about what you can bring to the job you’re applying for.
5. This is the chance for the company to get to know you as a person: show your personality beyond your work.

Huge thanks to Annelle Despaignes for Skyping with us tonight! You’re awesome! #FoxSports #productioncoordinator #UOAWSM 📷: @emmachildsss

A photo posted by UO AWSM (@uo_awsm) on Oct 12, 2016 at 10:24pm PDT

1. Be prepared. A person should know more about the company and the job they are interviewing for, than the person interviewing you does. Do your research.
2. Don’t get discouraged if your career is not going the way you want it to. Work hard and always keep trying.
3. Take jobs under your degree! So even if you feel you can do better, take it, but don’t settle for it.
4. Be mentors to younger people. Always offer advice and career knowledge.
5. Enjoy your life as much as possible. When you are young time is limited, so do as much as you can….go backpacking, travel!

Join us in talking to Fox Sports’ Annelle Despaignes! There will also be free pizza!

On Tuesday, May 17th, ESPNW writer and columnist Kate Fagan came to the University of Oregon to discuss her story Split Image. The hour-long event in the Jaqua auditorium was free and open to the public to discuss the story of Madison Holleran, who was a runner for Penn State and committed suicide in 2014.

Though the event was focused on Fagan, she asked the audience feedback about the way she wrote and reported Holleran’s story. The audience had multiple questions about reporting on mental illness along with her stylistic choices included in her story.

Fagan also spent time with the UO AWSM board earlier that day to give advice about the time she has spent as a writer and on camera. The entire board had the opportunity to ask her one-on-one questions and discuss other components of Kate’s work.

Our own Vice President, Gabby Urenda, also scored a one-on-one opportunity to interview Fagan for DuckTV Sports. The full interview is available on Youtube and discusses Fagan’s memoir about her experience in college coming out as a Lesbian in a team led by born-again Christians.

UO AWSM would have also not had this great opportunity without the sponsorship from Oregon Athletics, the Women’s Center and the School of Journalism and Communication sponsoring her event and stay.

Make sure to look out future events put on by UO AWSM and other great sponsors for the next school year!

By: Linden Moore

The Oregon chapter of The Association for Women in Sports Media and the University of Oregon’s Women in Flight program have come together to promote opportunity for women’s athletics. The two programs partnered at the Ducks’ softball game on Friday, April 29 to promote their programs as well as give out Women in Flight posters to fans.

Women in Flight, an initiative run by Oregon Athletics helps support the Oregon’s eleven female Division I sports programs by extending funding and resources for female athletes to prosper both as students and as athletes.

On the other side is the Association for Women in Sports Media, an organization to help promote women’s involvement in sports through a media perspective has grown on campus to give women more opportunities to write and interact with sports on campus by hosting workshops speakers from the sports journalism field.

Given their missions, the partnership is ideal. Both programs aim to raise awareness for women involvement in the sports industry, for both athletes and writers while emphasizing leadership skills. While both are still growing they are looking forward to continuing to support one another as both move towards creating opportunities for women on campus.

Wednesday, April 13 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in Allen 211 UO AWSM is hosting Lois Youngen a former catcher for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) and UO physical eduction instructor for over 30 years. Lois will be talking to us about her professional baseball experience and the growth of athletics at UO.

By Gabby Urenda

1. Be more confident. Know that you belong in a press box, post-game conference or locker room. Hold your head up high because your interview skills will become better and you will make your presence known.
2. News outlets are looking for interns with strong writing samples that go beyond just game stories. Your portfolio should show your personality and fearlessness.
3. Start creating your own brand—now. Make sure you have a strong presence on social media by linking your stories and don’t be afraid to promote yourself.
4. You have to do a little bit of everything, which includes the dirty work. This can include shooting games, editing, live tweeting and writing a story. Don’t just limit yourself to one aspect or expect someone to do it for you.
5. Don’t give people a reason to be hard on you. Though the sports media world is more inclusive, make sure you know how to dress so people don’t have a reason to single you out.

Best quote of the night: “I don’t know if I would still be in this business if it wasn’t for AWSM.”