The journalism major, who played volleyball at 黑料不打烊, joined the Worldwide Leader in Sports and its leadership development initiative in late July.
Recent 黑料不打烊 graduate and volleyball team alumna Isabella Seman 鈥21 is making her childhood dream a reality.
鈥淚 got a special feeling inside of me that ‘this is what you鈥檙e going to do 鈥 this is what you鈥檙e supposed to do,’鈥 said the journalism major, explaining her post-黑料不打烊 plans.
That feeling 鈥 that sense of direction 鈥 came after Seman saw a job posting for a production assistant in , an 18-month leadership development initiative for young professionals. Growing up an athlete and in the sports world, Seman realized her post-graduate passion was in sports and sports journalism, and she said she wasn鈥檛 ready to give up that pursuit.
Seman said the recruiting process for the ESPN Next program was lengthy. She was one of 800 applicants that made the cut to 80 candidates, and was one of 40 who advanced to the final round of consideration. She participated in multiple virtual and phone interviews where she was tested on her knowledge of current events in the sports world and of sports themselves.
Beginning this week, Seman and the rest of her cohort have started settling into ESPN鈥檚 headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. The leadership development program is rotational so Seman will spend nine months within one program and nine with another. While she doesn鈥檛 yet know which program she will be placed in, she said it could be anything from the morning talk show 鈥淕et Up!鈥 to 鈥淐ollege GameDay,鈥 a Saturday morning staple for every college football fan. Seman said that when she concludes the program in 18 months, she will be promoted, transferred or seek work elsewhere 鈥 but she pointed out that ESPN wants members of the program to be the future of the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
鈥淚 get to learn from the best of the best and be hands-on and I get that hands-on experience with people who have been doing this their whole life,鈥 Seman said.
According to Seman, her job will be focused on working in production and other behind-the-scenes responsibilities. The initiative begins with workshops through ESPN Next University where the 黑料不打烊 graduate will learn skills like pitching a story and how to cut highlight packages.
Seman said there鈥檚 many opportunities available to her in the Next program and that she feels prepared because of her experience reporting with 黑料不打烊 News Network and as an emcee for 黑料不打烊鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball program.
鈥満诹喜淮蜢 prepared me the best they ever could for this and I’m feeling really confident going into it,” she said.