Both Samuel Pittman’s parents work at Wichita State University, so he spent a good amount of time on campus as a child. But what really drew him to become a Shocker was the university’s strong sport management program.

Samuel, who’s from Andover, is one of more than 1,200 students eligible for fall 2020 graduation. Learn more about his time at Wichita State and what is next for the grad.

What is your degree in?

I am majoring in sport management and have a minor in communications.

What led you to Wichita State to begin with?

Both of my parents have worked at the university for what seems like forever, so I was around the campus a lot as a kid and was super excited to be able to come here. I also heard a lot of good things about our sport management department leading up to enrolling here and was delighted to see that they were all true.

How are you feeling leading up to graduation?

I feel great! A little down that my time here is coming to an end but excited for whatever life has in store for me.

What has been your most helpful learning experience while a student at Wichita State?

It would definitely have to be the hands-on learning that our sport management department requires us to do. It is one thing to sit in a classroom and learn about what you do, but it is an entirely different thing to apply that to a real-world situation.

What was been your biggest challenge as a student, and how did you overcome it?

It definitely would have been my first year here struggling with all the newfound freedom I had. I no longer had a super strict schedule that I had to adhere to, nor did I have all my free time tied up with sports and the like, so it was difficult to want to go to class. I was able to get through that by a combination of a swift kick in the butt by my parents and leaning on some of my friends and work colleagues that are older in asking what they did to get through it.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to go to grad school and hopefully get a graduate assistant position within an athletic department somewhere.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your time at Wichita State or your post-graduation plans?

COVID hasn’t really done that much to my time here, as I didn’t plan on being on campus much this semester anyway because I only needed one class and an internship to graduate. Post-graduation, on the other hand, is entirely different, as most athletic departments are not hiring now because of the lost revenue from cancelled seasons and games.

What advice would you give other Wichita State students?

Get involved and meet people! It sounds super cliché and what you would hear from like some internet help forum, but it’s true. The people I have met while here are some great people, and there is always something going on during the day on campus (at least before the pandemic there was). They also give away a bunch of free stuff, so that is always another big plus.