RonniJo Nigro

Hometown: Sheboygan, Wis.
Major/emphasis and minor: Major in sports management and leadership, minor in business administration, emphasis in athletic administration and athletic coaching.
Internships served: None yet.
Campus involvement: Admissions student assistant, Campus Ambassador, student coach for the Lakeland women's basketball team, Adventure Club.
Dream job: To be an athletic recruiter/scout for the NFL or NBA.

Why did you decide to attend Lakeland University? Because of the sports management and leadership degree. The description was everything I wanted to go for to help me get to being an NFL head coach, which I wanted to be at the time. Lakeland has so many connections and opportunities for me to get me to my dream job. I did not want to be just a number at a campus; I wanted to be somebody and get to know people.

What is one thing you want everyone to know about Lakeland University? There are so many opportunities to grow and get connected within our small university. We may be small, but we hold multiple hidden gems within us.

How do you want to impact someone else's life as a young professional? I want to make a different by being a role model for females in a male-dominant work place. The NFL does not have many women in the roles of coaching or recruiting/scouting. The NBA has a few more women in these roles, or in higher positions, but it is still very small. I want to impact the lives of young women who want to work in the sports field, but may have been told they will never make or a man will get it before them. I was told that multiple times, and I am not letting that stop me from my dream job.

How will the Gala scholarship impact your future? This scholarship will help impact my future by getting connections within the community as well as help me financially. Going to college isn't cheap, and student loans can build up quickly. I am already looking for internships in both the sports leagues I hope to work in, and many of them are unpaid internships. They are full time and full of experience, but relocating for a full-time, unpaid experience would be a challenge. I am keeping my options open for different opportunities while keeping my mind focused on my goals. This scholarship will help me lessen the financial burden during the semester I am working a full-time internship for experience and taking classes. These opportunities will help me grow and get one step closer to that dream job.