Game Theory Group is true to its mission in hiring student-athletes, typically recruiting current and former student-athletes to serve as interns for the company. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be introducing you to our talented team of interns with a little information on their background and how GTG’s platform has helped them.
Name: Emma Brown
School: Kentucky
Sport: Soccer
Twitter: @emmab1020
Emma is a standout on the field and off. In three seasons with the Wildcats, she has been a part of the Academic All-SEC team in every season. During her junior season on the pitch, Emma appeared in 12 matches, including starts in the SEC home opener against Arkansas as well as a home matcha gainst Alabama. She also played a key role during her sophomore season, notching minutes in wins over No. 12 Louisville and No. 13 Florida. Known as “lil red” by her teammates, Emma is a great example of what commitment on-and-off the field can lead to.
Check out our Q&A with her about her life as a student-athlete, balancing her time, and figuring out the next step in her career:
Q: What made you want to be a student-athlete?
A: I believe I knew I wanted to be a student-athlete before I knew what a student-athlete was. When I was little I always knew I wanted to grow up and become a soccer player, and college was my ultimate arena. To me, student-athlete is just an awesome title meaning I get to go to school and play the sport I love.
Q: How has being a student-athlete differed from your expectations going in?
A: Going into college, I knew trying to balance soccer and school would be a difficult task. I think that no matter how you prepare yourself, thinking you are ready and actually experiencing something are two different things – it took a little while, but after going through this balancing act, I finally figured out how to manage time and thrive in both areas.
Q: What benefits have you seen of being a student athlete?
A: I think the benefits of being a student athlete in college are limitless. It is a tough job, but there are so many people who want to help you and see you succeed that it makes going through this process so much easier. People see how hard you work on and off the field and that drive translates to everything you do in life – and people notice that. Moving forward, I hope that this translation of skills from both on and off the field carry with me to the work world and allow me to continue to showcase my drive.
Q: What skills have you learned as a student-athlete that will translate to the work place?
A: Being a student-athlete forces you to adapt and develop an array of skills. Among those are time management, effective communication, preparing ahead of time, becoming flexible, keeping focused, and always giving it all your effort. Taking care of all the little details has allowed me to bring together all the aspects of my identity on and off the field to make me a better person collectively and prepare me for the work place.
Q: How did you balance two internships while playing soccer?
A: It was difficult balancing two internships with soccer, on top of also having another job and taking summer classes. However, having a schedule and managing my time allowed me to excel in all these jobs and find time to still take a break while still having all these responsibilities going on. It is a difficult thing to do, but I just had to write out a schedule of everything I need to accomplish and by what time, then I could get things done and still have free time.
Q: Has your involvement as a student athlete made it more likely that you will give back to UK going forward?
A: My involvement as a student-athlete at UK has given me so much, and in the future I would love to give back to the university that gave me so much. Going forward, I plan to become successful and give myself the opportunity to give back to the program that helped develop me, the school that taught me so much, and the community that was so supportive.
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: My plans after graduation are to get a job with the advertising and/or marketing world which are very closely related. I can’t wait for the chance to work for an employer and show them how hard I can work for them and all that I have learned to be able to succeed and push a company forward. I can’t wait to see what my future has in store for me.
Q: What are your goals on the field this season?
A: My goals on the field this season are to support my teammates through every role possible on and off the field and to, obviously, have a successful season by surpassing past progress and leaving a new legacy at UK. This season I will get to play with some tremendously talented players and can’t wait to prove to non-conference and conference teams what we can do.
Q: What are you goals off the field this season?
A: My goals off the field this season are to possibly work another internship and to continue to establish my skill set and making connections to those I work with. I plan to utilize the career center and additional tools such a those developed by GTG to make sure that I can get a job out of college and work doing something that I love.
Check out previous Q&A with intern and professional soccer player Nkem Ezurike by clicking here.
