At a glance
“I have been fortunate to do a partnership with the Buffalo Bills the past couple of years. It has been a once in a lifetime experience working in their guest services system. We have also travel to Pittsburgh and toured facilities and done some networking.”
A love of sports and a desire to stay connected to competition drew Christian Castellanos (Greenwood Lake, NY) to the sport management program at Alfred State.
“I played sports for over ten years, and I wanted to go further and see what the business side of sport was.”
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Real-life, hands-on experiences outside the classroom have supplemented the lessons that Christian has learned. “I have been fortunate to do a partnership with the Buffalo Bills the past couple of years. It has been a once in a lifetime experience working in their guest services system. We have also travel to Pittsburgh and toured facilities and done some networking.”
The professors have also been key to his learning. “They want to give us that hands-on experience and show us what it is going to be like in the real world. They are extremely helpful and easy to reach out to whether you have a question about any assignment or lesson. The professors have had a lot of success with former students working with the Rochester Red Wings, the Brooklyn Nets, and the New York Yankees.”
Christian has been active with the Esports teams while on campus. He has served as the president of the organization and has played and coached the Overwatch team. The team competes in multiple games and competes with other colleges across the state and the country.
“We have been able to grow the community and have people play the games we provide on campus. I was able to participate in an alumni event last year that raised over $2,000 for Doctors Without Borders.”
Taking a leadership role has helped him develop. “Taking the leadership role has been enlightening. There are a lot of decisions and planning. I have learned that you need a team around you to plan out step by step what you want to do for the club and any specific events that we run.”
Christian spent his first year participating on the football team before moving to the wrestling team. The connections he has made have made Alfred special to him.
“I love the small-town aspect and that everyone knows everybody. It is just a tight community. You have so many opportunities to create new connections or find new opportunities.”
Christian hopes to combine his degree and his passion for Esports into a coaching career in the future.
Alfred State has helped Christian level up and now he is ready to coach the next generation to victory.