This past Friday we took a field trip to the ESPN Campus in Bristol, CT. The pictures will speak to this, but it was truly an amazing experience for our kids (and chaperones). This trip wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Joe Schroeder. His networking with the Russillo family, in particular former MVRHS grad Ryen Rusillo, made the trip possible. ESPN doesn’t normally offer school tours, but with the right connections we were given the Friends and Family Tour, which included time in Ryen and Scott Van Pelt’s radio studio, the chance to see the old Baseball Tonight studio, and Herm Edwards, Linda Cohn, Adam Schefter, Todd McShay, and Mel Kiper sightings throughout our tour.
More importantly, the kids heard first-hand accounts on how they might go about trying to secure a job in the Sports Broadcasting and Sports Management industries. And all of the sights were incredible. Complete sports sensory overload. It was like Vegas for sports fans. Many of the kids came away very motivated and impressed, and were already asking about a possible trip for next year.
– Josh Burgoyne