Q&A with former Grambling softball player Taylour Smith

July 21, 2011





Taylour Smith, former Grambling State softball player, recently discussed her Nike internship with SWAC.org.


Q: Talk a little bit about your internship at Nike. How did you get the internship and how has your experience been so far?


I was able to get this internship through SAAC which is Student Athlete Advisory Committee. The deadline was approaching but I managed to get my resume and cover letter turned in to Edgar Gantt who works with the SWAC. From there he sent it over to a recruiter at Nike and I was fortunate enough to be chosen for an interview. So far this has been one of the best experiences ever! Nike has such a beautiful campus and I have been lucky enough to be paired with a very cool manager who is really helping me learn the business. I am placed in the North American Retail Brand Presentation department and my position is North American EKIN. EKIN is Nike backwards and as this position you are expected to learn Nikes products backwards and forwards. So far I have been helping my manager with planning events that are coming up such as the US Open of Surf which takes place Aug. 1st in Huntington Beach, CA. I will be attending and helping to relay brand experience to the consumers.


Q: What was your major at Grambling, and how have you benefitted from an education at GSU?


At Grambling I was a business marketing major. Education is very important to me, however I do feel that it is just the foundation of things that you need to learn. As a softball student athlete from Grambling I really have managed to take life skills that have really helped me in fitting in with the Nike expectations. Things like time management, presentation skills, and being a team player are just to name a few. Those skills go a long way and have helped me adjust to this new environment. So I would have to say that education and experiences with my sport have helped tremendously.


Q: What are your future plans?


I would definitely love to continue to work for Nike! It is seriously like my dream job! The most difficult thing though is deciding what exactly I would want to do here because there's no point of me saying I want to work here if I can't contribute. But if I don't get offered a position immediately after my internship I plan on moving out to California while still continuing to network with my manager and people that I've talked to on Nike's campus to see if any positions open up for me. They also have a campus in LA so maybe that could be an option as well. I've learned here that building relationships are extremely important because you never know who can help you in the long run

This article was pulled from:http://www.swac.org/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/072111aaa.html

Hanneman hired as assistant at Division II Sonoma StateBlue Springs, MO — Amanda Hanneman, a Blue Springs South High School and University of Missouri grad, is the new assistant basketball coach at Sonoma State University.

Hanneman spent the last year serving as a volunteer coach at Avila University in Kansas City while networking and getting the word out that she was looking for a coaching position.

“I feel very fortunate to have Amanda join our program,” Sonoma State coach Mark Rigby said. “All of the folks back in Missouri at Avila University and at the University of Missouri could not say enough good things about Amanda’s character, basketball knowledge and work ethic.

“Having played successfully in the Big 12 will be a tremendous resource for our student-athletes. I’m really looking forward to working with Amanda.”

And Hanneman can’t wait to work with Rigby at the college in Rohnert Park, Calif. She leaves her home in Blue Springs for California Wednesday.

“It’s all so crazy how this happened,” Hanneman said Thursday morning. “I have a friend at the University of San Francisco, and she told me about a job opening at Sonoma State, which is about 35 minutes north of San Francisco.

“I contacted them and flew out for an interview. About a week later, I did a phone interview and the day after that, Coach Rigby called me back and offered me the job.

“I’m so excited. I thought it might take two or three years to get a coaching job. I really enjoyed volunteering at Avila and watching South and some of the other area high school teams, but now I’m getting to realize a dream.

“I’m going to be a college basketball coach!”

Hanneman will be Rigby’s lone assistant.

“In Division II, they only have one assistant, so I’m going to be doing a little bit of everything,” she said. “I get out there, take the NCAA recruiting test and we hit the road the 24th of July.

“Recruiting is something I love, and I think it’s going to be one of my strengths. There’s nothing I love more than calling Coach (Mark) Bubalo at South or the coaches at Avila and talking to them, and that’s the type of relationship I want to have with my players down the road.

“It might take 10 or 20 years, but that’s what I want to achieve with my players.”

In her volunteer role, Hanneman helped the Avila women’s basketball team make its first NAIA Division I National Tournament appearance last season after the Eagles won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. The team ended the season at 20-13.

Hanneman’s experience at Avila and her NCAA Division I background at Missouri was a big plus in the interview process.

She was a four-year letter winner (2006-10) and two-year starter for the Tigers. Hanneman ranks sixth in school history for most career three-point field goals (113), most three-point field goals in a single-season (58 in 2009-10) and best three-point field goal percentage in a single-season (.414 in 2009-10). She also served as a member of Missouri’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

She graduated from Mizzou with a bachelor’s of science degree in agriculture, food and natural resources. She was named to the dean’s list for her excellence in the classroom.

A two-sport star at Blue Springs South, Hanneman was an all-state performer as a senior and was a Suburban Big-Seven all-conference and Examiner All-Area selections as a sophomore, junior and senior. She was the Jaguars’ scoring leader in each of her final three seasons and eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau, finishing with 1,290 career points, the third-best mark in school history.

Hanneman also was an all-state golfer who led the Jaguars to four consecutive conference championships and state appearances. She was a part of two state championship golf teams and was The Examiner’s Golfer of the Year in 2003.

Hanneman replaces assistant Annie Roeser, who was part of the Sonoma State staff the past three years.

“My mom, my sister and I flew out to Rohnert Park last week, and I found a one-bedroom apartment about 10 minutes from the campus,” Hanneman said. “It’s about a 15-minute bike ride, so it’s perfect.

“This all happened so fast, I still can’t believe it.

UMass Lowell Honored With NE-10 2011 Community Service AwardUMass Lowell SAAC Raises $7,100 Over 2010-11 Academic Year

June 8, 2011

UMass Lowell, through the efforts of its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, received the Northeast-10 Conference Community Service Award Tuesday night at the Conference's Annual Awards Banquet at the Omni Biltmore Hotel.

The honor marked the fourth consecutive year UMass Lowell led all NE-10 institutions in fundraising efforts. The award was accepted by junior Amy Delgado (Bridgewater, Mass.), the chair-elect of UMass Lowell's SAAC for the 2011-12 year.



UMass Lowell raised $7,100 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation by way of two major fundraising projects - the Kids Zone Activities center and Bowling for Wishes - during the 2010-11 year.

"The SAAC has really taken this on as an annual project," said Joan Lehoullier, senior associate director of athletics who oversees the SAAC and the department's community service projects.



"The fundraising efforts have really become competitive, not only among the schools in the NE-10, but the teams here at UMass Lowell. They want to maintain the ability to fund at least one wish for a child. That has become the bar."



The $7,100 amount is turned over to the NCAA, where it is dispersed into the national Make-A-Wish effort.

This email can be found on:http://www.goriverhawks.com/genrel/060811aaa.html



The Kids Zone Activities Center, stationed in the Tsongas Center lobby during UMass Lowell hockey games, raised $1,200 while the third Annual Bowling for Wishes generated more than $5,900.



The field hockey team led all River Hawk teams by raising $635 at the Bowling for Wishes event.



Last year UMass Lowell raised more than $11,300 and finished behind only Dowling College for highest amount among Division II schools. The national ranking is expected to be released later this month.