University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt’s Dugan Making the Most of Summer Break
6/11/2019 10:18:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Rising Senior Gymnast Exploring Careers in College Athletics
PITTSBURGH – Pitt rising senior gymnast Rachel Dugan has a lot going on this summer, to say the least.
She recently participated in the 2019 NCAA Career in Sports Forum as one of 200 student-athletes from the 1,100 NCAA member institutions. The event was held June 6-9 at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis.
Dugan, a human resource management major, is also a member of the inaugural Pitt Script for Life Internship cohort, working with the Panthers' sport administration team for eight weeks during the summer months.
The Wayne, Ill., native spoke about her goals entering the NCAA Forum last week.
"I made sure to stay open-minded," Dugan said. "I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I wanted to learn about the wide variety of careers in college sports. I think most of us hear the term 'college athletics' and our minds instantly go to an athletic director or a coach. I wanted to explore all of the different possibilities and careers."
She made the trip to Indianapolis with fellow Pitt student-athletes Jacqueline Hendrix (swimming and diving) and Natsumi Okamoto (tennis). The three participated in different networking and education events on each day of the forum.
"A majority of the conference involved different professionals who served on a panel and offered advice and answered questions about their experiences," Dugan said. "We would also break up into smaller groups and learn about our own personalities through the DiSC assessment. There was also a big networking component, as well as motivational speakers."
Networking was one of the biggest opportunities at the forum.
"Hands down the best part of the trip was the people I met," Dugan said. "With over 200 fellow forum participants, it was easy to meet a lot of people. I think because we were all student-athletes, we felt a connection to each other pretty quickly. Everyone was really friendly and wanted to get to know each other. Besides just the students, it was great to network with professionals from different schools, conference offices, and the NCAA. It was easy to tell that everyone there genuinely wants to help you succeed."
One of Dugan's biggest takeaways from attending the forum was about making the most of your time.
"One quote that was said many times throughout the weekend is 'the time is now,' which I took to mean as live in the moment; don't get too far ahead of yourself and don't live in the past," Dugan said. "Do all you can do in the present moment and do it to the best of your ability and continue to do that in every moment. I thought this was simple, yet solid advice."
Moving forward, Dugan – a three-time East Atlantic Gymnastics League All-Scholastic Team selection – is excited about a possible future in college athletics and plans to continue learning about the field.
"Whether it's a career in investigations or keeping track of major gifts in fundraising, there are so many options in college athletics and it was really interesting to hear about the different paths everyone took to get to where they are today," Dugan said. "While I am honestly not sure yet what exactly I want to do in my career, I'm excited to continue to learn in my internship with the sports administration department at Pitt this summer and hopefully continue to get a better idea of what I think fits well for me."
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She recently participated in the 2019 NCAA Career in Sports Forum as one of 200 student-athletes from the 1,100 NCAA member institutions. The event was held June 6-9 at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis.
Dugan, a human resource management major, is also a member of the inaugural Pitt Script for Life Internship cohort, working with the Panthers' sport administration team for eight weeks during the summer months.
The Wayne, Ill., native spoke about her goals entering the NCAA Forum last week.
"I made sure to stay open-minded," Dugan said. "I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I wanted to learn about the wide variety of careers in college sports. I think most of us hear the term 'college athletics' and our minds instantly go to an athletic director or a coach. I wanted to explore all of the different possibilities and careers."
She made the trip to Indianapolis with fellow Pitt student-athletes Jacqueline Hendrix (swimming and diving) and Natsumi Okamoto (tennis). The three participated in different networking and education events on each day of the forum.
"A majority of the conference involved different professionals who served on a panel and offered advice and answered questions about their experiences," Dugan said. "We would also break up into smaller groups and learn about our own personalities through the DiSC assessment. There was also a big networking component, as well as motivational speakers."
Networking was one of the biggest opportunities at the forum.
"Hands down the best part of the trip was the people I met," Dugan said. "With over 200 fellow forum participants, it was easy to meet a lot of people. I think because we were all student-athletes, we felt a connection to each other pretty quickly. Everyone was really friendly and wanted to get to know each other. Besides just the students, it was great to network with professionals from different schools, conference offices, and the NCAA. It was easy to tell that everyone there genuinely wants to help you succeed."
One of Dugan's biggest takeaways from attending the forum was about making the most of your time.
"One quote that was said many times throughout the weekend is 'the time is now,' which I took to mean as live in the moment; don't get too far ahead of yourself and don't live in the past," Dugan said. "Do all you can do in the present moment and do it to the best of your ability and continue to do that in every moment. I thought this was simple, yet solid advice."
Moving forward, Dugan – a three-time East Atlantic Gymnastics League All-Scholastic Team selection – is excited about a possible future in college athletics and plans to continue learning about the field.
"Whether it's a career in investigations or keeping track of major gifts in fundraising, there are so many options in college athletics and it was really interesting to hear about the different paths everyone took to get to where they are today," Dugan said. "While I am honestly not sure yet what exactly I want to do in my career, I'm excited to continue to learn in my internship with the sports administration department at Pitt this summer and hopefully continue to get a better idea of what I think fits well for me."
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