ROBBY SMITH

Full Circle - Then to Now

By: Robby Smith

Date: 6/12/15

 

 

Originally, I applied to graduate school because I wanted to make a career working in intercollegiate athletics. At the time, I just finished my undergraduate degree and was working part-time in the athletic department at Michigan State University. I was doing odd end jobs and I knew, in order for me to move up and make myself more marketable, I would need a graduate degree. When I was looking at graduate programs, I had some criteria in mind that my graduate school would have to meet. I needed the degree program to be fully online as well as a program that would impact my career down the road. That is why I applied for enrollment into the Masters of Arts in Education (MAED) program at MSU. The program was completely online, which was a huge selling point for me due to the fact that if I did get a full-time position and needed to relocate then I could still finish my degree. Within the MAED program my concentration would be on sports coaching and leadership, which I thought would provide me valuable insight into how coaches and teachers instruct and teach their students-athletes and student.

 

My goals at the beginning of my course work have not changed all that much. Originally when applying I only had a couple of goals: 1) Complete a graduate degree to help further my career within intercollegiate athletics, 2) Learn more about higher education to better understand the entire student-athlete experience, and 3) obtain a full-time position within college athletics. My goals were simple yet would still challenge my graduate work and career choices. By completing my graduate degree in the College of Education, I believe I have made myself more marketable to colleges, universities, and high school athletic departments based on an educational background within athletics.

 

Currently my goals have stayed the same and have also grown beyond what I had originally planned. I will complete my course work and have a masters of arts through the College of Education by the end of the summer semester in 2015. I have also landed a full-time position within intercollegiate athletics at MSU. I attribute this to all of my hard work and dedication to athletics as well as education. My course work has provided me with valuable insight into higher education, teaching, administration, and how to best communicate with students or in my case, student-athletes.

 

Along with achieving my original goals, new goals and opportunities have also become a part of my graduate work. A major goal that will stick with me for the rest of my career is that I need to continue being a lifelong learner, educator, and motivator. As I finish my graduate work, this does not mean that I have stopped learning or growing as a person and educator. I need to constantly be learning and evolving much the same way as my students and athletes will. I also need to provide student-athletes with the resources to be the best students, leaders, and individuals they can be.