Nathan Nootbaar, a sophomore broadcast communications major, has combined his love of sports and media into an internship that he hopes will lead to a career.
Nootbaar came to Pitt-Bradford with some sports media experience -- as a high school student in Highland Heights, Ohio, he was involved in media projects and helped to broadcast football games – and he wanted more.
He talked with the Pitt-Bradford basketball coaches and his advisor, Jeff Guterman, about how he could combine his interests into an internship.
“The coaches knew broadcast communications was my thing, so they asked me if I wanted to take pictures for Media Day, and from there, it just naturally fell into place.”
Nootbaar filmed and broadcast games, captured practices, broke down clips for team analysis, and snapped photos at away games for social media and Pitt-Bradford’s athletics website.
“I feel like I am helping in ways that no one has done before,” Nootbaar said. “I want to see the team succeed, and I know they want to see me succeed, and this is a great way to do so.”
During the internship, Nootbaar has honed his skills as a sports broadcasting professional.
“I just want to learn and get better. Learning video and photo equipment is an acquired skill and so is editing photos and videos, so the practice I get through this internship will be useful in my future career.”
He’s preparing for a career in the professional or high-divisional level of sports, and the skills he’s acquired on his internship will help him get there.
“I am happy doing this, and I love it,” he said. “I am grateful to Jeff Guterman for giving me the idea of turning this into an internship. And as a sophomore, I am lucky that I was able to do an internship so early. Everyone around me has been very supportive, and I am grateful to them all for helping to contribute further to my success.”