“To work in sports you need a couple great internships, a good degree, and honestly a little bit of luck because so many people want to work for a professional team,” Mike Kalchik '11 (pictured at right) said of being hired as an Account Manager for the Oakland A’s, a Major League Baseball team in California. “It is incredible; I am thrilled to be working in baseball. As I say to people when I’m on the phone, I work at a ballpark every day, I can’t complain about anything.”

Kalchik, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration/sport management and minored in communication, is one of the many graduates of Aquinas’ kinesiology department who have gone on to work for professional sports franchises. The program, which offers majors in athletic training, business administration/sport management, physical education teaching, and recreation, has successfully placed graduates in careers varying from professional sports to collegiate coaching and athletic programs in various school districts.

“The opportunity to be a Student Ambassador and get a communication minor, along with the sports management degree, gave me all the tools I needed to succeed,” Kalchik said. “What I learned at AQ and the opportunities I had as an intern gave me the chance to land a full-time [job]. I am fortunate the A’s took a chance on me, because everyone knows how hard it is to find a full-time job these days.”

With AQ graduates working for teams like the A’s, Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Augusta Green Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and the St. Pete Times Forum, “successful” is certainly the word to use when describing the kinesiology department’s placement rates. So, what is it that makes these graduates so marketable?

“I can’t pick just one thing,” said Dr. Heather Kesselring-Quakenbush, Director of the Sport Management program. “There are pieces and parts of the program that are extremely helpful and allow students to be successful when they graduate.”

Among the “pieces and parts” are the various career development requirements which are incorporated throughout the courses, as well as the decrease in requirements in order to make room for the students to earn a minor. However, it is the impressive array of internship opportunities offered by the program and internship coordinator, Lauretta Simpson, which really give students the necessary boost in their qualifications.

“She [Simpson] has it set-up so that students do really get a trial run at different stuff while they’re out there, so they’re really qualified when they start to go to get a job,” Dr. Kesselring-Quakenbush said of the two internship opportunities which students are encouraged to pursue. “It’s because we’re small enough and because I can have the opportunity to know all my students well that I can be looking for things and push them in certain directions, and we can modify and create things that need to happen to them so they can be successful.”

The proximity to the various teams, facilities and school districts also play a major part in the success of the program. Among the local schools that boast AQ alumni as employees in their athletic departments are Wyoming Rogers, East Grand Rapids, Forest Hills Northern, Catholic Central, Northview, Grand Rapids Community College and Davenport University, just to name a few.

“We really are a nice tight network, not only with alumni but here in the community. There are a lot of organizations who are really excited to see Aquinas students walk through the door,” said Dr. Kesselring-Quakenbush. “A certain amount of credit must be given to what Aquinas stands for and what kinds of students are drawn to that. I think we draw hard-working, responsible, respectful, and respectable students who go out and make a really good impression.”