Christopher Knights '22 was born a Yankees fan into a Yankees family. In fact, he's wanted to work for the club ever since he realized he would never make it as a starting pitcher for the Bronx Bombers. However, since graduating last month, he hasn't had a chance to catch many Yankees games. Instead, he's been glued to the Atlanta Braves.
"I was told I would start with a bad team. I figured I'd get stuck with a lot of Pittsburgh Pirates or Cincinnati Reds games. But for whatever reason, I've had more Braves games so far than anything else."
Two weeks ago, Knights worked his first shift as a media management associate for the MLB Network. He's typically assigned one game a night, chooses the best plays, and uploads the highlights to the MLB app. He also links the highlights to the team webpages and writes the copy that complements the action (among other tasks).
"I've used the app ever since it came out. I've always had it. And now opening the app and seeing the work that I did, it's really cool."
The only regret: he hasn't been assigned a single Yankees game yet. He'll have to work his way up to cover the best team in the American League.
Knights always figured that if he wasn't working for the Yankees, he'd want a job with MLB Network. He just never imagined he'd be there right out of college. The path to the studio in Secaucus, NJ is a little bit serendipity, and a whole lot of perseverance.
Last winter, the sports communications major took a sports field production course. The professor brought a director from MLB Network, Lucas Altman, into a lecture via Zoom.
"I knew that might be my only shot if I wanted a job at MLB Network right out of college. I emailed Lucas after class and introduced myself. We stayed in contact, and a few months later, he offered me a tour of the network studios."
Knights took the tour and then sent along his resume and asked if Altman would share it with the right people.
"A couple days later, I had an interview. Soon after that, I accepted a job at the place I always wanted to work."
Knights shares advice that helped him land a dream job right away:
"I encourage all students to make as many connections on LinkedIn as you can. Build your network, and send new contacts a message and introduce yourself. Don't hesitate to ask your professors for career help and guidance and take advantage of their contacts. And finally, utilize the Career and Internship Center. They were a huge help in polishing my resume."
Christopher Knights '22
