Florida Atlantic University Athletics
My Two Favorite Things
1/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | General
Jan. 25, 2013
I love my FAU Athletics internship and the opportunities the department has given me. At times like these with the recent conference alignment announcement, I'm truly grateful for how involved Athletics allows me be but more so the new cities I will get to visit. However, there are two things that I genuinely get excited for: I'm passionate about travel the other is a broadcasting dream.
My passion is to travel. As a typical two job - full-time broke college student, I don't have the luxury of traveling on my own or with family. My FAU internship provides me that opportunity. Yes, it is for business and I do work, but while the players are preparing for the game, I join the FAU radio crew and traveling media as we explore the host city. My favorite in the two years I've worked in athletics is Auburn (2010). My family is from the Dominican Republic, a small island in the Caribbean where college football barely exists. Auburn was the first SEC game that I traveled to. It was the season after Auburn hoisted the National Championships trophy. The crowd was electric. The culture, traditions, War-Eagle chants, people, etc, it was awesome. You know a school is rich in culture when the crowd cheers for the marching band just as much as they do for a game-winning Hail Mary. I literally left a part of me at Auburn that weekend. I even looked into AU's graduate program, which I decided not to do (please don't take away my internship Mr. Chun). Other games like Navy, Georgia, and UF are great too because you get to experience the history of established schools in college towns. You really get to learn about the culture of a university. Point is: traveling is the greatest thing about covering sports. I'm excited about the new cities and the new adventures that will come with Conference USA.
The only thing I would give up my internship for is for my dream job as a sports broadcaster or a job sampling food. Funny enough, the way I discovered my food tasting talent is by traveling with FAU football. If the SEC has the best traditions, Sun Belt Conference football has the best tailgate food ever! Anybody who has traveled with me knows that I spend a good hour during pregame warm-ups walking around in the tailgates, spotting the most fatty, original, home-cooked meals out there (I'm like Dinners and Dives of College football tailgates). My favorite was the University of Louisiana Lafayette and their amazing Cajun spreads. I gained two pounds from that weekend alone but I rightfully lost it after doing the "Rooster dance", for an hour, with the Krew de' Chu tailgate. I nearly missed the bus after the game because I went to the post-game tailgate to grab more homemade gumbo. The Sun Belt Conference schools were warm and welcoming. From the delicious homemade bar-be-que in North Texas last season to the bottomless bowls of gumbo I had in both ULL and ULM, my taste buds always had a delicious surprise. Most of my Facebook pictures weren't about FAU football but the food I was eating. And yes, while I'm sad I'm breaking off these food relationships, I'm so excited to start new ones.
New food options while watching FAU embark on a new journey? I hope the team hotels continue to have a workout facility.
Ginette Javier
ginette.javier@gmail.com
