Birmingham students get guidance on sports, entertainment careers
Panelists talk to Birmingham high school students about careers in sports and entertainment. (Michael Tomberlin / Alabama NewsCenter)
More than 500 Birmingham high school students heard directly from the experts today as they ponder careers in sports and entertainment.
The Birmingham Bowl Youth Symposium was held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex this morning. Sponsored by Alabama Power, the event assembled a panel of experts from ESPN, the SEC, the SEC Network and the Birmingham Bowl to encourage the teens and answer their questions.
“Athletics taught me an awful lot about discipline, preparation and hard work,” Quentin Riggins, former Auburn linebacker and now senior vice president of Governmental and Corporate Affairs for Alabama Power, told the students.
Birmingham Bowl Youth Symposium features ESPN, SEC, SEC Network, Alabama Power professionals from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Riggins shared the panel with Tiffany Daniels, associate commissioner and senior women’s administrator with the Southeastern Conference; Mark Meadows, executive director of the Birmingham Bowl; Ben May, senior director of sports management with the SEC Network; and Ranford Richardson, account executive-television with ESPN.
Daniels, who played basketball at Georgia, said she was pursuing a career in computer science when she accidently unplugged her computer one night in college, losing an hour’s worth of work.
That led to a realization that computer coding was not her passion.
She encouraged the students to find that thing they are passionate about, that separates them from others and be willing to start for little or no pay to earn their way into the job they want.
That last point was something May said young people need to understand.
“Don’t feel like you have to start at the top,” he said. “Find those stepping stones that will get you to where you’re going.”
Daniels said she had vital guidance from others and that made her want to participate in the panel.
“Someone did this for me,” she said. “So this is a perfect opportunity for me to share the little bit that I’ve learned with them and to help them as they enter into this next phase of their lives.”
She said while smartphones and technology are doing much to enhance education and information, she fears they inhibit relationships skills. She encouraged the teens to put down their cellphones and interact with people more because those interpersonal skills and relationships will be crucial going forward.
Riggins said Alabama Power and the Birmingham Bowl saw the symposium as a useful outreach.
“We got a chance to have a great exchange with a great group of kids,” he said. “They asked some really tough questions. I’m hoping that our panel was able to inform them on some things that allowed us to get to where we are today or to make it through sports or use sports as our vehicle to our career path.”
Riggins said those who have found success have a duty to ensure success in our youths.
“You can have a positive impact on young people if you just take the time to do it.”
Daniels said she left the event hopeful about what these students and others like them will achieve.
“Our future is bright,” she said. “We have some really bright students that are in our Birmingham high schools that have an opportunity to contribute in significant ways. … We have some really good opportunities to connect with them to help them along the way.”
Students were from Carver, Huffman, Jackson-Olin, Parker, Ramsay, Wenonah and Woodlawn high schools.
Fox 6 personality Jeh Jeh Pruitt emceed the event.
The Birmingham Bowl will be played Dec. 29 at Legion Field.
