Sarah Gilman '16

Sarah Gilman

Sarah Gilman '16

ILR Experience: Human Resources Intern, Horizon Media Human Resources Intern, Major League Baseball President, Sports Business Society Executive Board Member, Big Red Sports Network
Sarah, who finds the business side of sports “really intriguing,” grew up loving sports and playing softball. “People say music is the language of the world; I think sports is also the language of the world,” she says.

Major League Baseball (MLB)

One project I’m proud of that I worked on the entire summer was the anti-harassment online training program. I made sure that all the interns and all the employees completed the program. I also did a lot of training programs and sat in on five sessions of Your Leadership Journey, a program that identifies and develops emerging leaders. It was so interesting to hear about people’s different backgrounds—we had a firefighter, a police officer, a team member, and even a recent college graduate.

Every three years, the league holds a human resources conference with all of the teams’ HR executives. Last summer, the conference was held in San Francisco and covered such topics as morality, the new healthcare legislation, and diversity. Planning was done in the Commissioner’s Office. We had to prepare binders for the participants and get them to San Francisco on time—the order of things kept changing, so we worked on them up to the last minute.

Sports Business Society

As vice president of alumni affairs and career services for the Sports Business Society, I communicate and encourage alumni to participate in Skype events, as well as visit campus. I also make our members aware of any job postings for teams, leagues, or companies in the sports industry. Through our mentoring program, I try to help other undergraduates find their place in the Sports Business Society.

A lot of people see sports as this big expansive thing and think there’s no possible way they can crack the business. It is big, but there are little things you can do that will help. You can learn to present in front of a group, network, interview correctly. I’ve made a lot of connections in the field, and I work those connections—I stay in touch with my supervisor at MLB and the Cornell alumni who work there. You also need to understand the business as a whole. If you understand how the financials work, how the operations work, how the foodservice works, you will add value to the company.