Pathways Voices: Episode 9

Maddie Albanese and DeeSoul Carson:

From the Center for Faculty Advancement at New York University.

Group:

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

DeeSoul Carson:

I’m DeeSoul Carson.

Maddie Albanese:

I’m Maddie Albanese.

DeeSoul Carson:

Faculty development is at the core of what we do.

Maddie Albanese:

Our programs are devoted to faculty support and development.

DeeSoul Carson:

From recruitment to career advancement…

Maddie Albanese and DeeSoul Carson:

… throughout the faculty life cycle.

Maddie Albanese:

We are also creating pathways for a younger generation of academic scholars, researchers…

Maddie Albanese and DeeSoul Carson:

… and future professionals.

DeeSoul Carson:

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Maddie Albanese:

There are only beginnings.

DeeSoul Carson:

How do you get there?

Maddie Albanese:

Who paved your way? Your path?

DeeSoul Carson:

How did you get here?

Maddie Albanese:

Who brought you along and held your hands?

DeeSoul Carson:

How do you get anywhere?

Maddie Albanese:

Whose shoulders are you standing on today?

DeeSoul Carson:

Who paved your way? Whose shoulders are you standing on? Who brought you along and held your hand?

Maddie Albanese:

Are we there yet? How do you get there? How do you get there?

DeeSoul Carson:

How do you get there?

Maddie Albanese:

How do you get there?

Maddie Albanese and DeeSoul Carson:

There are only beginnings.

Daniel Kelly:

The value of a pathway program is that it opens up a door that someone never knew existed. It provides a student or a participant with a possibility because they may be thinking about traditional modes of career exploration. And for myself, I never thought I’d be a college professor.

And so, I saw myself as a sports agent. And so being exposed to some mentors and getting a chance to be in a career pathway program exposed me to the possibilities of being able to travel the world and learn about sport, travel the world and educate different work business practitioners in different countries on the possibilities of where they can use best practices from the U.S. to grow business in their country.

And then, of course, giving them opportunities to explore together the possibilities of research and the possibilities of what could be in sport business. And so, a career pathway program is the reason why I’m here. Getting opportunities for mentorship and building the foundation was how I was able to maintain that momentum. But the key was the career pathway program.

My name is Daniel Kelly. I’m the Academic Director of Graduate Programs and Full Clinical Professor for the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport.

I was fortunate. I started out as a professor 15 years ago and got the opportunity to work my way up through small, private liberal arts colleges like DeSales University, Wilmington College. And then I took a faculty director position at Georgetown, which led me all across the world working on the FIFA World Cup. And fortunately, through my great work with executive education, I got to bring a piece of that program here, the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport. And now we have the NFL partnership as well, in the same capacity.

Richard T. Farmer School of Business at Miami University, great institution, great support. And I had a great opportunity to blend business with my masters in sports sociology. And so, understanding the intricacies of finance, of accounting, of marketing and management, and then applying it to the sociological outlet of sport and seeing football, soccer, basketball, hockey, and how the people within the sport were navigating career paths.

And fortunately, I got a chance to track career paths. Dissertation at Ohio State had led me to, of course, my career now helping students find their niche in sport business. Lifelong athlete, played basketball here in New York City. So I’m a New York native. But more importantly, I think my Jamaican roots, my parents are Jamaican immigrants and instilled in me hard work, love of family. And of course, if I’m going to play a sport, you know, play it at full effort. So, great experience.

I had a mentor, a mentor in college. His name was Dr. Joseph Cox. He was someone who showed me through higher education how you can travel the world, be a lifelong student, and continue to grow daily. And so he instilled in me in our conversations of mentorship about growth every day, getting better every day, and understanding how you can support your family, how you can open the world to them, and how books are the first step, and then the practical experiences are how you can prove what’s in the books.

And so, living my life through a theory and a practice, understanding, preparing myself for the opportunity, and then taking the opportunity and being able to see the growth. And so, Dr. Cox, his tutelage and his efforts to make sure that I had a wonderful experience as an undergrad, but also supporting my experiences as a grad school student and showing me this pathway to a life I never envisioned.

My role is to continue that legacy, and as a professor at NYU to open up pipelines for students and faculty of color, to see opportunities here, and to see me as a resource the way Dr. Cox was a resource for me in my career development to this day. One of the associate deans at Miami University, Ms. Linda Dixon, she helped me get a full ride scholarship to Miami University, and she established a pipeline from the Bronx, New York, or my high school was actually the Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem. And so, a pipeline from Frederick Douglass Academy all the way over to Miami University in Ohio. Not only did I go there, but some of my basketball teammates, as well as my younger siblings, all went to Miami University. And so, as a legacy across almost 15, 16 years of my family friends going from New York City to Miami, Ohio, and from there being able to build out a career path because we were able to get a world-class education that allowed us to travel internationally to do study abroad in Madrid or study abroad in London.

And continuing that legacy in my work with FC Barcelona, with Borussia Dortmund and continuing on with Chelsea FC in the great work we’ve done here at the Tisch Institute, it’s just been. If those experiences don’t happen, if I don’t get a chance to meet Mrs. Linda Dixon, if I don’t get a chance to travel and do the study abroad for a semester, I don’t think I’d see the world the same way. And see the possibilities of working in global soccer and global sport business and getting a chance to work with some of the top sport business practitioners with the National Football League. And so those doors are open because Linda Dixon saw a potential in me and helped me get a full ride to Miami University.

I think one of the reasons I came to NYU is because there was leadership of color. Dr. Lisa Coleman from the Office of Global Diversity and Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Charlton McIlwain writing his book about Black Software and just the opportunities to see other leaders that looked like me who were pushing for opportunities.

But never did I think that I would come here, and it would be the amount of resources for faculty because I’ve been a part of the Center for Faculty Advancements programs since day one. And I love those programs because it’s an opportunity to grow and they really build social capital, helping you to understand how to navigate not only NYU but your respective career path and industry. And this kind of programming through Academic Impressions or a lot of the career coaching circles was just another part of the career pathways that I felt was beneficial.

And throughout my 15-year career, there wasn’t the same investment internally by a university. And so being fortunate to be here at this time, I felt was serendipitous. After reaching out to both Dr. McIlwain and, of course, Dr. Lisa Coleman. They referred me to the CFA, the Center for Faculty Advancement. And from day one, working with Usheevii King and the team, it’s just been constant alerts, resources, and notifications about the possibilities and it’s the kind of support you hope to get as a faculty member of color.

My family was big and making sure I didn’t quit. If I started something, I finished it. And maybe it’s my Jamaican heritage. I do believe strongly that it’s been a goal of mine that I’m going to start something, I’m going to complete it. Whether it’s a PhD in education, or sport management from Ohio State, or it’s a degree in sociology, when I’d only taken business school courses and you’re like learning a different language. In sociology. And it’s just an understanding that it was always going to be tough, but in the end I could always count on myself. Getting here today to be at NYU, to have a chance to work with world class students, to get a chance to do research at the FIFA World Cup, to get a chance to see the world and see amazing sport business being conducted across this world and to meet amazing people is more than I could have ever thought.

But I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to maintain the humility by always knowing that I need to work harder and get better every day. And just fortunate that at this time at NYU, we have faculty, staff, students and a whole community behind us.

Maddie Albanese:

Are we there yet?

DeeSoul Carson:

We’ll see you next time.