Maggie

Sports has never been about kicking or throwing a ball. It has always been about the community within it. My dad is from Florida, which is where the Florida sports come from for me, and my older brother never really liked to sit on the couch every Sunday and watch football for hours. However, I did. 

I have been watching Miami Dolphins football with my dad since I was eight years old, and grew up playing Little League soccer and basketball, competed in gymnastics for four years and played in club beach volleyball for two years. 

Sports has always been a part of my life, whether I was watching or playing, and has taught me about community and friendship more than anything, and sharing the good times with people you love. I always dreamt the job I would go into wouldn’t feel like a job because I want it to be something that I am happy doing and happy being a part of. I am so happy to be where I am, involved in sports and working in sports. It is beyond what I ever dreamed of. 

To me, sports mean laughs, smiles and core memories. I have been lucky enough to have experienced growing up in Los Angeles, engraving the LA sports fandom into my blood, and to have gone to a university like Oregon State to show me the collegiate sports world, to grant me core memories. I believe that with all of the laughs and memories sports has given me, it has helped me become the person I am today – I would not be who I am today without sports. 

Casey 

“Hit my chest!” my dad yells to me as he throws the baseball back before I proceed to spike the next throw into his shins. It’s these little interactions — whether sharing sports with your family or arguing about them — that is what it’s all about. 

As previously mentioned, I wasn’t always on top of the charts when it came to being talented on the field. However, I made sure no one could outwork me or outshine me as the cohesive talent that kept the team together. The impact of dugout experiences helped me realize I had a literal voice in something. As I was unaware of this during my playing days, I soon discovered that sports media was my future when I stepped onto campus here at Oregon State University. Being able to speak, write and play sports helped create a community that can never be fully described; only by participating in it can you truly understand it.

The bond of being able to call my father after every game is something I hold very close. The excitement of rushing to the lunch table in middle school to discuss the primetime game from the night before is what made up my childhood. Grinding out at-bats and trying to get that extra yard is what allowed me to experience what it’s like in the players’ shoes. Sports have transformed me into the man I am today and propelled me to keep it by my side for the rest of my life. 

McKenna 

8-0. That was the score of the first Los Angeles Dodgers game I ever attended. I was nine years old, and my world was changed forever after watching Clayton Kershaw throw eight shutout innings. It even prompted my dream to become the first professional female baseball player, which didn’t exactly play out the way my nine-year-old self desired, but it marked the beginning of endless opportunities. 

I played a long list of sports growing up, besides baseball, I played soccer for ten years, volleyball and lacrosse for six years, and even swam and ran track. I couldn’t imagine a life where I wasn’t constantly embedded in sports; whether that means sports culture, media, or simply throwing a ball at the park. Some of my favorite memories involve the intense emotions I felt watching or playing sports. It was formative to who I am as a woman today. 

Continuing and expanding on my sports journey at Oregon State has been a blessing, and something I was not expecting to be such a vital part of my college experience. While I was excited to transfer here because of our reputable baseball program, the opportunity to write for many of the teams and paint a picture of our athletes’ stories is something I will cherish for the rest of my life. I thank every coach, friend, family member, teammate and person who added value to my life through the art of sport.