I remember the day I was nervously awaiting an over-the-phone interview for a position at the Marquette Wire. It happened the summer before my first year as an undergraduate student. My palms were sweaty as I anxiously paced back and forth in the living room of my house.
I didn’t think I was qualified enough, a million thoughts raced through my mind, and I was scared of the unknown.
After wrapping up my answer to the last question, I was offered the job on the spot and was hired as a sports reporter. I was in disbelief while at the same time incredibly excited to begin the journey towards pursuing a career in sports media.
My first year with the Wire was one I’ll never forget. The first beat I ever got was men’s soccer, and to this day it’s still one of my favorite sports teams on campus to cover. Then in the winter and spring, I got put on the women’s basketball beat and got to witness what the Marquette basketball frenzy was all about.
I wrapped up my first year getting to travel to College Station, Texas to cover the women’s team in the NCAA Tournament. That remains a top 5 moment in my student media career.
Going into my sophomore year, I felt like I was ready to take that next step, so I became an assistant sports editor. In that role, I learned just how tedious late nights for the Tribune can get. Sleep became irrelevant on Monday nights.
Then lo and behold, the pandemic happened. COVID-19 took a shot into my career aspirations of becoming a sports journalist (yes, pun intended). My confidence was shaken because it took away many opportunities, most notably internships.
I explored the idea of going down a different career path, and I ended up doing just that.
I decided to remain with the Wire, but this time I wanted to take a crack at TV by becoming an assistant sports producer for Marquette University Television.
My junior year featured some of the most fun, memorable moments I’ve ever had as a part of the Wire. While it was extremely tough to cover sports in the middle of a pandemic, we all embraced that struggle together and still found a way to put out incredible content with some good laughs sandwiched in between.
The following summer, I locked down my first internship ever with a baseball team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a seamless transition from what I experienced in my first year as an assistant sports producer with the Wire.
Both places felt like family.
I knew I wanted to carry that culture into my final year with the Wire and that’s why I decided to become the executive sports producer.
This year has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences I’ve gone through not just in college, but in my life. Being in a leadership position is a lot easier said than done, and I’m still learning what it takes to be a good, effective leader. But it has certainly prepared me for life beyond college and I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve gotten.
It’s been quite a ride in this role. My three assistant producers and I have put together 19 half-hour long episodes of Golden Eagle Sports Report and we’re about to cap it off at 20 with our final show next week. We’ve accomplished so much and the future is bright. I already can’t wait to tune in next year.
I wouldn’t be where I’m at now if someone didn’t take a chance on a first-year student with little experience coming into Marquette. That someone was John Steppe and he gave me that first opportunity when he hired me in the summer of 2018.
While I’m still actively looking for what my next step is once I graduate, I’m blessed to have gotten to work with the incredible people who reside within this organization and I’ll cherish those relationships going forward.
This article was written by Tyler Peters. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TylerPetersMU.
