Things I Learned From…

It’s hard to believe my daughter is going into her second semester of her sophomore year of college at Towson University.

When I was exactly her age at this point in my college career at Towson, my life changed. I was, like her, a second semester sophomore who had changed majors from Business Administration to Mass Communication. I heard other students in my new major talking about their cool internships—at television stations, event venues, and Baltimore’s newspaper. Hearing them talk about these awesome experiences caused me to get off my duff and get serious.

I mailed off a letter to the Baltimore Orioles and within a couple of weeks, I secured a job as a part-time public relations assistant.

My life changed because of this decision to try to add to my resume. My somewhat shaky college career made an about-face. My grades got better, my responsibilities increased, and I balanced a busy college life with a part-time career in baseball for the duration of college.

That job evolved into a total of 13 years with the ballclub. I grew up there. I was promoted. I made my dearest friends there. I married my husband who also worked there, and is now back working at the Orioles after a very full career.

I’ve often thought about writing a nonfiction book about the lessons I’ve learned from working in baseball, and specifically, from working for the Orioles. It was a special group, and so many of the lessons I learned I roll into my own lectures at Stevenson University, where I’ve been a professor for many, many years now.

When you learn a work ethic from the best, from people like the late Bob Brown and Helen Conklin and my friends Julie Wagner and Charles Steinberg, it sticks with you. Anyone can develop a good work ethic, you just have to want it badly enough.

Just a few year old than I was, watching Charles and Julie work as a young, impressionable college student, inspired me. I wanted to contribute to something big and exciting, and the Orioles offered me that opportunity to marry my communication skills with helping the community in and around Baltimore.

Instead of writing a nonfiction book, beginning Monday, February 7, I’ve decided to start a weekly 5-minute podcast that I will share here on my blog (and on Spotify) with the goal to share stories and inspire. The theme of the podcast will be “Things I’ve Learned From,” and the Orioles will certainly be a focus of a few of these podcasts. I’ve tried podcasts about writing…and believe me, there will be some content surrounding writing…but I want these to encompass a little more than that. I want these podcasts to focus on things we can learn and ways we can grow, with tips I’ve learned along the way that I can share from my experiences working in various capacities and the rich knowledge I’ve gained from others.

I’m inspired to share the Things I’ve Learned From podcasts with you. I love learning, sharing, and inspiring, and I think this will be something exciting for me to focus on in 2022.

xx,

Stephanie