Site and Location

Ms. Gracia Perilli

 Assistant Director of Athletics, Senior Women’s Administration

DeSales Univerity

2755 Station Ave, Center Valley, Pa 18034

Phone: (610) 282-1100 Ext. 1218

Email: graciaperilli@desales.edu

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Summary

            This was by far my favorite experience thus far. From day one we jumped right into things. We worked on tasks like check requisitions for events, more specifically the women’s track nations, and yearly NCAA paperwork (Sport Sponsorship and Demographic form). Everyday there was a task to be completed or multiple ones. There was also a lot of discussions about NCAA rules and bylaws. Occasionally she would ask my opinion on certain things going on with DeSales or ways to make something smoother. One idea I gave them was to create a webpage for athletic advancement that mirrors the concept of Lehigh Universities. I suggested this based on a meeting a sat into and the ideas they were throwing around. Overall, I was involved in a lot of projects at DeSales as well as having nice brainstorming talks.

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Impact

            I learned a lot about myself through this experience. The most important thing was that I could see myself working in college athletics, especially at the Division III level. The working relationships that everyone has with each other feels like a family atmosphere. Being able to go in everyday and have a staff that works great together is very satisfying. The staff size is very small, but it is nice because you spend a lot of time around the athletes and come across some interesting tasks. I also learned through this experience that I want to get my master’s in athletic administration or sport administration down the road.

The area that I experienced the most personal growth in is having the want to work in Division III athletics. I want to be around athletes that love sports, but know that education is the most important thing. The DeSales University taught me that there is a good balance between athletics and academics at that level. I have also had some personal growth in the relationships I form through these experiences with the staff. When I was at DeSales I wanted to help everyone anyway I could, not because I had too, but because they would do the same for me and it was the right to do.

As for professional growth, I feel it was with being exposed to the off-season duties of an Athletic Director. Not everyone understands the work that you must do in the summer when there is a break from competition. Being exposed to medical hardships and sponsorship and demographic forms has helped my knowledge grow at a professional level. Just listening to the information covered in meetings and conversations with others while help me in the future to deal with certain situations.

The insight I gained from college athletics is unbelievable. I was able to see firsthand what an Athletic Director is responsible for doing during the summer. You are required to get pre-rosters together, start booking buses for trips, finish medical hardships, finish NCAA paperwork and more. Some people would find tasks like these boring, but I am so interested in this area that I found everything we accomplished fun. I also learned that there is always a way to simplify something to make it go smoother. Ms. Perilli showed me so many cheat sheets she created to help cut the time of projects to increase efficiency.

Based on my experience I believe that the sport management department has prepared me tremendously for this experience. Even Ms. Perilli has applauded the program for how prepared I was for this. We had detailed discussions on topics that not everyone knows. If there was one area that I could’ve developed better was knowing more about the specifics forms that the NCAA requires you to complete, but as Ms. Perilli and I discussed you could have a major dedicated to college athletics.

This practicum has cemented what I want to do after I graduate from the program. This past year I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do, but after working with Ms. Perilli I know that I want to work in college athletics at the Division III level.

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