School of Communications Working in Sports

Professor Nick Pietruszkiewicz has extensive journalism experience – including 14 years at ESPN. Still, one of his proudest accomplishments is the mentorship program that he established throughout his professional time there.

ESPN Digital Content’s mission is to develop relationships with both students and schools to educate and mentor a diverse talent pool of aspiring journalists, concentrating on those interested in behind-the-scenes roles.

ESPN associate editor for the app and alerts team Lo Yarnall ‘21, MS ‘22, received an email about the mentorship program restarting up after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she received the email, she swiftly jumped on the opportunity to have a mentee.

“Our goal with the mentorship program is to educate college students about all the different behind-the-scenes jobs at ESPN on the digital side beyond reporting. Some of those roles include digital video, streaming and services, copy desk, content creation and more,” said Yarnall.

The program not only allows mentors and mentees to discuss ESPN, but anything relating to their professional careers including drafting strategies for their resume, learning about other areas of study, and making a game plan for post-grad life.

Read the full Quinnipiac Today article

Well before his recent job offer to cover high school sports for the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee, Toyloy Brown III ’22 was still trying to figure out life after graduation. Where would he be next? What would he be doing?

Brown listened carefully as Greg Lee, senior assistant managing editor at The Boston Globe, told him he was one of just 16 students who had been accepted into the Sports Journalism Institute. It was the perfect gig, a summer training and internship program designed to develop college sports journalists and promote racial and gender diversity in America’s newsrooms.

In that one memorable moment, Brown became the first Quinnipiac student to be accepted into the prestigious Sports Journalism Institute. Over the last 30 years, SJI alumni have been hired by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, ESPN and other major media outlets.

Brown was assigned to write for USA Today and its parent company, Gannett. His internship began remotely before pivoting to Gannett’s New York City offices on Broadway near Times Square. As a native New Yorker, it wasn’t just home. It was a perfect placement in the biggest media market on the planet.

Read the Quinnipiac Magazine article