Sport Management Grad Preaching and Teaching Soccer
September 8, 2020
Gwen Hernandez
Gwen Hernandez ’20 came to FSC in 2017 to become a dental hygienist. She graduated last spring, but not with the degree she expected. Instead, she earned a BS in Sport Management, to pursue a career in media relations with a major league team in the sport of her choice.
Today, Hernandez works part time for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), New York City’s Major League Soccer team. She’s on the game-day staff, doing everything from player interviews for the team’s website, liaising with media, handing out microphones to reporters, hosting celebrities, and more. She got the job through her Introduction to Sport Management class.
“We were told to do research for a project,” Hernandez says. “I emailed the team’s senior director of media relations for more information. Through that connection I was offered a position in media relations for home matches, and from then on I have been given plenty of opportunities and experiences to help me learn first-hand what it takes to work in media relations.”
When Hernandez arrived at FSC, sports were not on her radar. She came after a semester at New York City College of Technology, where she studied Liberal Arts & Sciences. She enrolled in Dental Hygiene, but after a year in the program had second thoughts.
“After a year of doing the pre-reqs, I realized this is not what I want to do with my life. I knew I was going to be unhappy, and I had a period of self-reflection, and knew I wanted to work in sports. I knew that’s my calling. Thankfully, FSC had a sport management major. I felt like it was meant to be. I knew it would be a great choice for my future.”
Hernandez was so convinced it was a great choice that she endured a four-hour round-trip commute from Williamsburg, Brooklyn on the LIRR, at a cost of $300 a month. She is a first-generation American, and Williamsburg is the place her parents emigrated to from El Salvador.
“The best thing about being a first-generation American is, I have two cultures I can identify with. Every experience is a new experience, which makes it a million times more exciting. The worst thing is, not having a foundation to fall back on. You always have to give 110% percent because if you don’t, you won’t have a helping hand to get you to where you need to be.”
Hernandez also goes above and beyond working with children, with City in the Community, a foundation sponsored by NYCFC that uses soccer as a means to promote health, education, and leadership development to children in underprivileged communities. She works there part-time, after having started off as a volunteer.
“Working with kids is an extremely fulfilling and humbling experience. You get to see each kid open up and grow throughout the programs. Seeing the difference you’re making in their lives, makes all the hard work worth it and drives you to help more kids.”
So how did Hernandez balance schoolwork, a demanding part-time job, and working with children?
“Depending on the semester, I would go two to four days a week to school. During the days I didn’t have school I would go to work. There were times where after school I would go straight to the Bronx to work the games, which would be a six-hour work day, from pre-game to post-game, and I would get home about midnight.
“Last semester I would go to work after my 8 a.m. class. I would be up from 5 a.m., go to school, then after class travel to midtown and not get home until about 7 p.m. It was a huge mental and physical struggle, but I knew I was passionate about finishing school and my work, and that it would all be worth it.
“I am a very hard-working, passionate person. I knew as a first-generation Hispanic-American woman I was going to have a lot of obstacles and people who doubt if I’m capable enough or intelligent enough. I work hard every single day to show what I’m capable of, not only for myself, but for my family who has struggled and worked so hard to allow me to get to where I am now.”
