I do work as a campus consultant for Sports Illustrated at the University of Oregon. My team and I do promotional work for SI on Campus, a division of SI that focuses solely on NCAA athletics http://www.sioncampus.com. We usually do a really good job with all the assignments they give us, and for a reward we were invited to attend the SI NYC Experience Trip — a 3-day, all-expense paid trip to the Big Apple to visit the SI headquarters in Manhattan. Man, what an experience it was.
We left Eugene at 6 a.m. Monday morning, and after about 6 hours of flight we arrived in NY. From there we were picked up by a SI escalade and driven to the Flatotel on 52nd street, about a block up from Times Square. At the hotel we met our bosses and the other teams attending: Tennessee, Oklahoma, LSU and Penn State. We got checked in and headed to dinner at Tony Di Napoli for some authentic family style Italian – DELICIOUS – even though I was “that guy” and dropped a giant ravioli on my polo…sweet. After dinner we went to some dainty Irish pub and decided the best way to make friends with everyone would be over some drinks, needless to say we ended up in Times Square at 2 a.m. loud, friendly and loving life. The next morning was a little brutal. We had to be in the lobby, ready to go at 8 a.m., which usually would not be a problem for me because all of my classes are at 8 a.m. this term, yet being on Eastern Standard Time, we lost three hours. So when you throw that in the mix with the flights across the country the day before starting at 6 a.m. and a late night, you can imagine our coffee consumption was at a dangerously high level.
The Time Inc. building was a block away from our hotel and was quite the building. SI was on the 33rd floor, and the elevators went fast enough and high enough that my ears would pop. The day was full of guest speakers. We got talks from the director of PR, the franchise sales manager, the sr. editor for the swimsuit and baseball editions of the magazine and many other high up individuals. It was great because it was very interactive. We all got a chance to speak with these people, ask questions and collect business cards. The amount of contacts made, hopefully, will allow me to be a future employee of Time Inc.
That night we all went to the Mets game at Shea Stadium, courtesy of SI. The Mets smoked the Nationals and one of my team mates even caught a foul ball.
All in all, the entire trip was amazing. It was my second time to the center of the world, and once again I was saddened to part with it. I hope to return soon, potentially for a summer internship with SI (keep your fingers crossed for me).
Posted in Uncategorized
