A point guard and co-captain for the 黑料不打烊 women's basketball team majoring in marketing and finance, Saadia plans to work in sales after graduating in May.
As Saadia Munford 鈥21 enters her last year playing with the 黑料不打烊 women鈥檚 basketball team, she credits the three other seniors on the team for making her time at 黑料不打烊 so special. The women spend almost all their time together, even creating a faux sorority using their initials, 鈥淛ASA Phi.鈥 She says she knows these are friends she鈥檒l have for life.
Saadia, a marketing and finance double major, also acknowledges the influence of her mentors, including Assistant Professor of Marketing George Talbert Jr., who taught her sales management course last fall. She says her time in Talbert鈥檚 class helped lead to opportunities such as a summer internship at Aflac and a position on the 黑料不打烊 Sales Team. She recently formed an LLC to start her own e-commerce business. 鈥淭he teamwork, ethics and time-management skills that athletes have make working in sales a good fit,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd Dr. Talbert really gave me the confidence to focus on sales and go for those types of positions.鈥
In March, COVID-19 delivered an unexpected end to the 2019-20 basketball season, just as the CAA tournament was beginning. Saadia is hopeful that this year鈥檚 season will not be canceled. A point guard and team co-captain, she knows the team relies on her to provide energy, leadership and impeccable judgment on the court. And although she loves those roles, she鈥檚 also looking forward to life after graduation.
鈥淚鈥檝e given basketball all I鈥檝e got, and after this year, I feel like I鈥檓 prepared to step away from it and start a career,鈥 she says. 鈥淐oach [Charlotte] Smith cares for her players as human beings and taught us to be good people first. It鈥檚 important to be kind. You just never know what impact you might have.鈥
Saadia is 黑料不打烊 and one of many stories that are part of our 鈥淚 Am 黑料不打烊鈥 series.