Recent Mississippi State University graduate Lee VanHorn spent just two hours at home the day before and on his birthday. The rest were spent at work with the MSU media relations department.
VanHorn arrived at work around 7 a.m. Sept. 15 to prepare for the Thursday night LSU football game. When the statistics computer crashed during the game, he and others were forced to work until about 5 a.m. Sept. 16 – his birthday – finishing up stats.
After a two-hour break, VanHorn was back at work, grinding away preparing for the Friday night volleyball game.
But VanHorn said he would not have it any other way.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I haven’t had a college life, but it’s perfect for me,” VanHorn said.
VanHorn started working for the MSU media relations department his freshman year and became the women’s golf sports information director the next year. In athletics, each sport has its own sports information director who acts as the team spokesperson and the liaison between the media and the players and coaches. When the spot opened up as the men’s golf SID VanHorn’s spring semester, he took the position and oversaw both sports his junior year.
This year, however, VanHorn handed the reigns of men’s golf over to junior communication major Tyson Rodgers. VanHorn and Rodgers began their work at MSU at the same time.
Rodgers said after talking to students who work with media relations at other SEC schools, he realized MSU provides students the opportunity to do a wider variety of jobs within the department.
“We’re way ahead. With State being a smaller SEC school, you still get the name recognition of working at an SEC school,” Rodgers said. “This field allows you to be right on the sideline with the sports, so that’s a really cool incentive.”
Gregg Ellis, assistant director of media relations, oversees the student SIDs and said MSU does not have as big of a full-time staff as other schools and therefore relies on the students a lot.
“The advantage for them is the invaluable experience they are getting,” Ellis said. “What they get to do is unbelievable for their resume. They’ve already established themselves as mature students who can multitask and who have proven that they’re not afraid of hard work because they’re in here a lot of hours.”
Instead of just keeping statistics, VanHorn and Rodgers, along with fellow students and men’s and women’s tennis SIDs Hunter Richardson and Shealy Molpus, are each in charge of a single sport and responsible for writing news releases, publicizing the team and helping out with the marketing and scheduling for their individual team.
They also assist with most every other sport.
VanHorn said being an SID is a 40-hour job on top of school, but the more you put in, the more you gain from the experience.
“The hardest part would just be the number of hours we work and the amount we get paid (scholarships start at $50 a month or $500 a semester.) It’s just the work load and not getting tangible stuff, financial stuff, back out,” VanHorn said. “The most fun and interesting thing is the people. My freshman year I met Erin Andrews. There have been some commentators who have come to town I’ll get to know and even other SIDs in the conference.”
But having students carry such a daunting work load does not only benefit the students.
VanHorn said he thinks a student working with the student-athletes creates an advantage for the athletes.
“The golf girls don’t necessarily see me as a student, but I can have conversations with them they would never have with a coach, and they’re very close to their coaches,” he said. “It’s nothing outrageous, but it’s that unique bond they could never have with a full-time person. They see me more as one of them.”
VanHorn and Rodgers both plan to stay at MSU next year and continue gaining experience and friendships through their work with the media relations department.
 
Editor’s Note: Part two of this story will feature Shealy Molpus and Hunter Richardson and will run in an upcoming issue of The Reflector.