Nearly three years ago when I first got to BU I pictured myself as a journalism student, but very quickly found myself changing my mind and going into advertising. At the same time I thoroughly enjoyed sports journalism and did not want to give it up completely.
Luckily for me, BU held “Splash,” which is an event that follows matriculation and allows new students to go on Nickerson Field and walk around dozens of tables featuring different clubs and student organizations. It was there I found the Daily Free Press, BU’s independent student newspaper and signed up for more information. Days later, I was assigned to the field hockey beat, and was able to continue as a sportswriter.
During my time with the FreeP, I covered field hockey in the fall, men’s basketball in the winter, and softball in the spring.
Fast forward to February 2014, I was presented with a unique opportunity to write for a small site covering college basketball only, which was a result of a connection I built during my two years with the FreeP. So for the last four months I have been focused on covering the Patriot League (BU’s basketball conference) as best as I can for OneBidWonders.com.
One of the best perks that came out of this new experience was the ability to do quite a bit of traveling. Over the course of the season I covered games in my own backyard at Agganis Arena (where BU men’s basketball and ice hockey teams play), TD Garden, Barclays Center in New York City, and even Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
For most, the NCAA tournament, otherwise known as “March Madness” is the craziest time of the year for college basketball as people obsess over their brackets and who they pick to win the tournament, I view it quite differently. For me, these last few weeks are when I finally get to rest and enjoy college basketball as a fan.
The first week of March was one of my busiest as I found myself on the road covering the Patriot League conference tournament. On Tuesday March 5th when I covered Loyola-Maryland at the College of the Holy Cross, Boston’s accessibility really saved me, I was able to run right from class to the commuter rail station, jump on a train and go out to Worcester.
Two days later, BU was taking on Lafayette College and then I really learned how great the BU community was. Lafayette is in Easton, PA and being from New York City I do not drive, which would make the 5-hour trip extremely difficult. Luckily for me I was able to get a ride from two BU alums who go to nearly every BU game and were making the trip down. With the game beginning at 7PM we left Boston at 10AM. Unfortunately, BU would fall to the Leopards who would eventually win the Patriot League Tournament and take part in this year’s national tournament.
The next morning we arrived back in Boston at 3AM, after editing my articles and organizing photos I found myself falling asleep at 4AM, only to wake up four hours later so I could get to work and class. The next day I felt extremely tired but accomplished after thinking about all I had done this season, and it all came from one little choice I made at Splash back in 2012.
