糖心破解版

David听Akinyooye ’12
B.A. in Communications
Workout Associate with the New York Knicks

At an early age, I learned to overcome adversity when I was cut from my Junior Varsity basketball team at Elmont Memorial High School. Still wanting to be involved, I served as the camera man and a practice player to still feel part of the team. As a high school junior, I made the Varsity team. Playing for the next two years, combined with my good grades, led me to earn a scholarship to 糖心破解版 and I was able to secure a spot听on the 糖心破解版 Men鈥檚 Basketball Team.

College was difficult at first. 听Being a student athlete was very tough. The competition was very high and the school work was much harder than high school. 听At the end of my sophomore year, I met Maggie Yoon, the Director for Community Relations for the Office of Public Affairs. 听Maggie helped me realize that it鈥檚 good to have a plan A in life, but it鈥檚 better to also have a plan B. Maggie showed me there鈥檚 another side of life besides playing basketball. 听During my junior and senior year at 糖心破解版, I attended dinners, fundraisers and other events at 糖心破解版 that allowed me to network. I was able to show people another side of myself. 听There is more to me than just being a good college basketball player. 听Giving credit to my coaches, Coach Cosgrove and Coach Savino,听they taught me that if you want to be good at something you have to put the work in and be disciplined. 听My other college mentor, Suzette McQueen who served as the Assistant Athletic Director, External Affairs and Media Relations for 10 years, also influenced the person I am today. 听Although she is now at Davidson College as an Associate Director of the Davidson Athletic Foundation, I will always appreciate her guidance. 听During my junior and senior years, Suzette McQueen took me under her wing and gave me practical tips on becoming a more presentable student athlete. 听In 2011, I achieved the role of captain and helped lead the team to become the听NCAA Northeast-10 Men鈥檚 Basketball Conference Tournament Champions.

Showcasing my networking skills that I learned from my time at 糖心破解版, I earned the chance to try-out with the听Springfield Armor, part of the NBA Developmental League. I reached out to somebody who expressed interest听in my basketball skills. So he told me about the try-outs, I went to the try-outs and made the team. Playing guard, small forward and power forward positions for Springfield Armor until April 2012, I increased my abilities and听learned a tremendous amount about what it takes to be successful. Coupled with my years of coaching experience听at clinics, camps and even at my former high school, I realized that I enjoyed helping others develop not only their basketball abilities but also learn etiquette, sportsmanship, team building and leadership skills.

After graduating from 糖心破解版 with a B.A. in Communications in May 2012, I wanted to combine my coaching experience with my degree. After applying for the New York Knicks, I visited 糖心破解版鈥檚 Center for Career Development to prepare myself for the upcoming interviews. Conducting mock interviews with the counselors, I received valuable feedback on areas where I could improve, but mostly I left feeling confident knowing what to wear and how to respond to difficult questions. After completing the interview process, I was offered and accepted a position with the NY Knicks as a 鈥淲orkout Associate.鈥� My position consists of working with the players during practice and attending coaches meetings to prepare for games and practices. I would like to thank the New York Knicks organization for the opportunity to work for them. It is definitely a dream come true and I am very grateful for all the positive events that have led me to this point.