The Sports Industry Club (SIC) organized and executed a multi-club sponsored trip to Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City, New York on Tuesday, March 7.
The trip was open to the entire University community and drew an attendance of over 50 Monmouth students. The clubs that helped sponsor this endeavor included HawkTV, Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), WMCX, The Outlook, Black Student Union (BSU), and Financial Planning.
Haider Husaini, President of SIC and junior marketing student, was largely responsible for liaising between club presidents in securing funding and attendance for the trip. He explained, “Facilitating the communication with other clubs was not an easy task. I don’t see some of these club presidents in my classes, or even in passing, so it was mostly done through emails, calls, and texts… Despite those difficulties, it was important to me to include multiple clubs because it gives us all an opportunity to use our funding and benefit from educational aspects of a trip.”
Husaini added, “Having each club put their stamp on it also attracts more members and shows them which clubs are active on campus, grabbing the administration’s attention. I look at this yearly tradition as a future selling point for the university.”
Over the course of the trip, students toured Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., engaged with a career panel, and attended the Knicks vs. Hornets game.
Jessica Martin, President of PRSSA and senior communication student, concurred with Haider, highlighting some of her club members’ takeaways. “Overall, the collaboration process and the trip itself were wonderful! All of the club presidents worked very hard to represent their respective members and proudly represent Monmouth University. Students representing PRSSA learned a lot about the Madison Square Garden arena and career inspiration from MSG representatives,” Martin said.
The group had VIP access to the arena, giving them unique insight into MSG’s history and internal operations on game days. The panel involved from MSG’s sales professionals— Phillip Young, Taylor Harmon, and Kyle Heiden—provided the students their testimonials and career advice.
“It felt surreal to tour one of the most historic arenas in the world at Madison Square Garden. On top of that, the panelists were insightful and left everyone with great career advice. Finally, the atmosphere of the game was fantastic,” commented Luca Morello, Vice President of SIC and junior marketing student.
Other students involved took to LinkedIn to gush over their experience, reflecting the sentiments of their club executive board members.
Robert H. Scott III, Ph.D., Professor for the Department of Economics, Finance, and Real Estate, helped advise and supervise the trip. “Haider is an excellent student and has done a tremendous job leading the Sports Industry Club— I’ve advised several clubs over many years, and I know how difficult it is to run a student club well. He (and his club officers) worked hard to obtain support from several other clubs on campus to reduce costs for students,” expanded Scott, “They made the trip seamless and enjoyable for everyone. It takes dedication to organize a trip like this and Haider led the effort for the benefit of all MU students who attended.”
Morello noted, “Collaborations like this give students the opportunity to be involved with other clubs and find new interests they did not even know they had, as well as have great experiences that could not have been done by any one club alone. I believe that it is the duty of the clubs on campus to provide students with memorable opportunities and events. Collaborating between clubs is an easy way of doing this.”
Haider agreed, explaining how networking under Monmouth’s flagship provides greater opportunity for students, “It is easier to network and speak to high-profile professionals in the industry under the brand of Monmouth University. Attempting this by yourself is much more difficult.”
