“I knew that I wanted to work in sports media from the time I was maybe 11 or 12-years-old. It’s hard for me to pinpoint the exact date because that’s kind of all I’ve ever known as far as what I wanted for a career, but that’s when I really kind of knew I wanted to do that. I started paying closer attention to how broadcasters acted on tv and learning sports terminology, broadcasting terminology, everything and that’s when I really fell in love with the sport of hockey.”
“I didn’t really think about a career in sports right away. I was going to be a teacher, an elementary school teacher, that was kind of the dream until probably senior year of high school. I always had a passion for sports… I certainly loved everything about sports and then I learned, probably about senior year when a friend had suggested, ‘hey you like to write, you like to talk sports, you’re knowledgeable. That could be a job,’ and I was like, ‘holy yes! It could be, let’s go for it!'”
“I want to emphasize what Jessi said about spreading out your talent and your knowledge and learning other areas of the sport… It is so valuable to be able to say, ‘I can do that’ if I need to. It might not be my niche, it might not be my favorite thing, but if you need to get thrown in that position you never know when you’re gonna need those skills.”
“I haven’t had any extremely negative experiences so far working in this industry, which I think is a sign that things are improving and that we’re in a better spot now than we were when I was a kid or even before I was born. There’s still a lot to be done, but I’m really thankful that I’ve at least made it a few years in the professional industry here without any glaring negative experiences when it comes to my gender.
When I was a kid, and I first wanted to do this stuff, I remember kids in high school saying ‘you can’t do that, you’re girl, what do you know about sports?’ Things like that where it’s just stupid teenage boys who are just making fun of you and teasing you… And even then, I was kind of like ‘I don’t care. I know what I’m talking about…’ But I kind of like it. It motivated me to want to really do well at what I did because I knew what I was capable of and wanted to prove that to other people.”
“I don’t know if I’ve been necessarily held back from anything because I’m a female. I’m very fortunate. I know plenty of women that I’ve come across in this industry who have had far worse experiences than me….But it’s always those little comments, and that has continued from the beginning to the end, whether it’s ‘oh you just think the guys are cute’ or oh ‘you’re trying to date a player…’ It’s just kind of little comments where you’re reminded that you are the only female in that room, and it is a bunch of guys, especially in hockey where it’s a bunch of older white men and there isn’t much diversity across the board….”
I know that what I’m doing is right… In addition to inspiring other little girls to do it… I think you just really gotta put that aside, and in general you’ll always have to put criticisms aside. You have to know that ‘I can do this job because you can,’ there’s no reason not to no what no matter what anybody else thinks. 22-year-old Jessie did not have the time of that, naturally, right? I was taking everything like ‘oh, why do they hate me?’ Comments on your appearance are far more common for women than they are for men. I’ve seen guys show up to skates or games in sweats and a hoodie, and that’s what they’re interviewing players in, and meanwhile I’m in heels and dressed. And, you know, you feel like you have to put in that extra effort, which is unfortunate. I mean it’s kind of part of the the way it is and there’s that.”
“Exciting, fulfilling and busy, and I mean all of those in the best way possible; it is such a fun career… People always think it’s this glamorous job, ‘oh, you get to hang around the athletes, oh, you get to watch sports for a living.’ Yes, that is true. It is glamorous. It is fun. It is so exciting. When you’re watching an exciting sporting event and covering that sporting event, it is just unlike anything because it’s like, I sit and do this at home, and now I’m getting paid to do this. What’s better than that? But it is busy, it’s weird hours and you’re kind of on call all the time. Especially with what Jessi and I do for a podcast like this—you know we have to be ready to talk about something at the drop of a hat so it is a very busy career, but it’s extremely fulfilling. Every time I do something that people enjoy or every time someone congratulates me or compliments me on something that I’ve done, that I’m really proud of, I really take that to heart. That means so much to me.”
“I would say either chaotic or hard would definitely be the first one. It’s a lot of hard work, and it’s not as simple as going to the game, and enjoying the game, and hanging out and watching it. I mean on a game day, for myself, it’s easily a 12-hour day. Sure, there’s a lot of fun, but it’s busy… I would say it’s very exhilarating too. I think that chaos lends itself. I’m fueled with adrenaline so often… I’m really lucky to be able to do something that can be so fun.”
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