The following story was submitted by Erin Mancini, a 2012 fellow of The Perfect Game Foundation.

Name: Erin Mancini

School: Virginia Tech

Internship: The First Tee

How did working with The Perfect Game Foundation help you?

With the help of Del Wilber Jr. and The Perfect Game Foundation, I was finally able to pursue my dream of working in the sporting world. Mr. Wilber proved to be an invaluable resource and a wonderful mentor. He helped me to find and apply for positions that I would never have found without him. Coming in as a girl just finishing her freshman year of college, I did not have much faith in my ability to get a job. However, once I started working with TPGF, I always felt like a priority and that this was an organization that would not settle for anything less that total success. Mr. Wilber was set on helping me to find an internship, he pursued several leads including one with a non-sports focus, because it included my other areas of interest. He made the time to get me an internship that I would love and the one I got was through a connection of his. This experience allowed me to expand my network and knowledge of how job hunting works. It was an invaluable experience and I am so grateful to have gotten this opportunity

What advice would you pass on (pay forward!) to others to aspire to work in sports?

Anyone who is seriously interested in working in the sporting world needs to be dedicated. There are plenty of jobs out there, sometimes they just aren’t the easiest to find or they aren’t right for you. Do not be afraid of rejection. Chances are you will have to try a couple of times to finally get your success story, but in the end it is worth the time and energy put in.