The association arranged several professional development activities for our members this fall. In September, members of the MAVM traveled to Kansas City. The first stop was Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs. In addition to a tour, members had the opportunity to talk to the leader of their youth programs, where the Chiefs allow schools to take field trips and learn about health and the importance of staying active. They learned about the history of the Chiefs and how the Hunt family has made an impact on the NFL.

“We learned about possible internship opportunities and I look forward to applying for those in the future,” said Keegan Killigan, president of MAVM. “Later that day we met with the Kansas City Mavericks. They are affiliated with the Calgary Flames. We learned how the ECHL [mid-level professional ice hockey league] works and what all goes into putting a Mavericks game together. We are invited to shadow employees at the Mavericks this season. There are also a lot of internship opportunities with the Mavericks, so overall it was a successful networking trip.”

In October, MAVM traveled to Chicago on a weekend networking trip.

“We visited The Chicago Bandits, which is a Women’s Major League softball team and has the only stadium built specifically for Major League Softball in the country. We had a chance to visit one of the largest free-standing domes in the country, where they hold indoor softball tournaments, sports camps and company outings. We then traveled to the Arlington Racetrack, which is a horse racing complex and holds 55 special events. It was an incredible experience seeing their facility. The next day we visited the House of Blues. It is a concert venue in the heart of Chicago with a lot of interesting art, restaurants as well as secret prayer spaces throughout the venue. It was very cool to take in all of the history and culture of the venue.

We also attended a Chicago Blackhawks game. It was a great experience to see how a world-class organization runs its game-day operation. We were able to talk to one of their sales reps and learn about her role in the organization. Overall it was a great weekend full of networking and learning.”

The faculty advisor for the organization is Dr. Mauro Palmero.