Being a Champion On and Off the Court

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“Success” can mean something different to every single person. Given how quickly life passes, as long as we each figure out our own definition and pursue it relentlessly, we all can be successful.

I am fortunate to work for the Golden State Warriors, an organization that strives to be successful both on and off the court. While the team did win an NBA (National Basketball Association) championship this past season—the zenith in terms of on-court success—I’m also proud of the work the Warriors Community Foundation does off the court to provide exposure and support to nonprofits throughout the Bay Area.

The Warriors Community Foundation supports education and youth development to promote thriving students, schools and communities. When I started working for the foundation in 2020, I also decided to pursue my MBA in the UC Davis Bay Area Part-Time MBA program. Furthering my education was the key to advancing in the sports industry. My goal is to one day lead an NBA organization's foundation and eventually launch my own nonprofit.

The Warriors always strive to be champions on the court; I realized going back to school would enable me to become one in the community. 

My Journey to the NBA Business 

My aspiration to work in sports started long before my MBA studies. As a teenager growing up in Riverside, California, the only opportunities I saw for a Black man to make a career in sports was either playing on a court or a field. I desperately wanted to prove this stereotype wrong—not only for myself, but also to inspire others back home that we can break barriers if we set our minds to it.

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And so, while I wasn’t quite sure what exactly I wanted to do, I knew that the end goal would be working as hard as I could to have a role in the NBA.

This fueled my undergraduate experience at UC Riverside. I earned an undergraduate business degree and extended my learning with internships with the American Hockey League, Women’s National Basketball League, Major League Baseball, the National Football Association (NFL) and other sports organizations.

After experiencing many different positions, I finally secured my first full-time job with the Golden State Warriors. Eventually, I found a calling with the Golden State Warriors Community Foundation (GSWCF), the nonprofit arm of the team.

Starting my role with the GSWCF fueled my pursuit for a UC Davis MBA because I wanted to further develop leadership and professional skills in my current position while also gaining the tools to create my own nonprofit.

 Why UC Davis? 

The university as a whole and the MBA program is helping students who are trying to figure out how to develop careers. I plan to learn as much as possible from UC Davis to create a nonprofit that provides underprivileged students the tools to develop careers in the business side of the sports industry. This motivates me daily to continue my development and credibility as a business professional in the sports field. 

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Champion in the Community 

I had the opportunity to succeed working for a championship professional sports organization, yet the true success is that I found a way to work in sports while also making a difference in the community. I was fortunate to be promoted to program manager of the foundation this past year, and I feel that it came at exactly the right time as I decided to pursue my MBA.

While there are many interpretations of success, I’m very fortunate to have found mine both on and off the court and with the help of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.