By Nik Lassonde '25 / Sports Information Student Assistant
 

In mid-June, I was given the opportunity to attend the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida as a representative from our University and the Little East Conference. Formerly known as the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA), the CSC was founded in 1957 and is currently a 3000+ member national association for strategic, creative and digital communicators across intercollegiate athletics in the U.S. and Canada.
 
At the convention, I was able to talk to a lot of great minds. First, I had the chance to have several interactions with Amie Canfield, the recently-appointed Director of Athletic Communications at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, which is also a member of the Little East Conference. She taught me the importance of knowing your student-athletes on a personal level. The goal of a Sports Information Director is to not only work at athletic events to support student athletes, but to also broadcast and display the amazing stories that each individual student athlete has to offer.

Just one year into my career, I have had the chance to work on many of the tasks that a Sports Information Director (SID) is required to do, including stats, photos, and public address announcing at various Eastern athletic events. I am so grateful that I had this experience going into the convention, as I was able to share my perspective as a student-worker to the other Sports Information Directors in attendance. I also had the chance to network, as I met so many SIDs ranging from the Division 1 level all the way to the NAIA and JUCO level. It was so interesting to learn about all of the unique challenges that they face, as well as the similarities across all levels.
 
I also attended breakout sessions throughout the conference, discussing how to interact with athletic directors, why it is important to make your presence known to your student-athletes, and why it is okay to make mistakes. As a Sports Information Director, you are the person your student-athletes should go to for questions on various things in athletics, and it is your responsibility to be the bridge between the athletes and athletic director. 
 
In addition to working with many SIDs at the convention, I also interacted with some great student-workers! I was able to talk to Bryson Eldridge, who attends the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA, and Emma Monismith, who attends Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, PA. We were able to make so many connections as student-workers in our Sport Information Offices at the Division III Level, discussing the different tasks we complete at our respective institutions. While I usually work in stats, photos, and public address announcing, Bryson focuses on directing creative videos and Emma works in photography. They both take great pride in producing their best work for their student-athletes, which is something I can relate to. I also talked to Bryson about how I can get into editing and making videos because that is something I don't have any experience in, and I talked to Emma about how I can be a better photographer for when I travel on the road with our athletic teams and take pictures. 
 

I am thankful for Eastern's student-athletes because they are open to conversation and honest with me about what they want to see. Typically, the men's basketball team will want pre-game photos of them getting off the bus and shooting around, while the women usually want photos with their teammates or in the huddle with the coaching staff.  Similarly, softball requests photos with their teammates as well as any funny props they bring to games. Baseball players love dugout photos as well as photos of in-game action. I wouldn't have known this if I didn't take the interactions I have with my student-athletes seriously. I listen to what they want, and I try to give it to them as best as I can. I talked about these interactions I have with our athletes at the CSC Convention. Other Sports Info Directors told me they were proud of me for seeing the importance in what we do.  
 
Overall, I had an amazing time representing Eastern Connecticut State University Athletics and the Little East Conference at the 2023 College Sport Communicators Convention. This convention gave me the opportunity to have discussions with a lot of amazing people, make important connections, and network to the best of my abilities.
 
I want to thank Director of Athletics Lori Runksmeier and Sports Information Director Bob Molta for nominating me to represent Eastern and the Little East Conference. I hope I made them proud!  For the next two years, I will be the best student-worker I can be and will continue to provide the content, energy, and support our amazing student-athletes need. I am eternally grateful! 
 
Working for Bob in the Sports Information Office for this past year has been such a special experience, and it has helped me learn what I want to work on for the rest of my career.