Dani McSweeney started at West Virginia University (WVU) with plans to become an athletic trainer. After realizing that path wasn’t for her, McSweeney transferred to Point Park to become a sports, arts and entertainment management major (SAEM).

“I actually took the Point Park SAEM 101 in high school, my high school was one of the partner schools…I did not even know that this type of stuff existed, so when I was at WVU and kind of confused where to go next, Point Park seemed like a good place. That class was really cool, so that’s how I ended up here,” McSweeney said.

Now the graduate assistant for the Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing, McSweeney hopes to help students to have the same opportunities that she had.

Some of those opportunities included numerous internships with professional sports teams.

During her first semester at Point Park, McSweeney secured a part-time job in the box office for the Riverhounds. The next fall, McSweeney became the honors assistant for the Center.

“Then I went to the winter meetings, which the Center does every year. They take kids down to the baseball winter meetings and it’s just this huge job and internship fair, basically. And from there I got an internship from Perfect Game USA, which is a baseball scouting company, and then I actually moved to Florida to intern with them,” McSweeney said.

McSweeney accepted her internship with Perfect Game USA in December, and accepted a position with the Pittsburgh Penguins in February as an inside sales representative. Additionally, McSweeney interned for guest services at Heinz Field.

McSweeney said that Perfect Game and Heinz Field were two of her favorite internships.

“I’m someone who’s busy all the time, and with Perfect Game I was working like 14 hour days every single day, and some people think that’s crazy but I was having fun with what I was doing and I really did love it,” McSweeney said. “But at Heinz Field, that’s home. I’m from Pittsburgh, so being able to say that I worked at Heinz Field for the Pittsburgh Steelers, that’s something that’s really cool.”

As the graduate assistant for the Center, McSweeney plans events and invites speakers to come to campus.

“The Center’s bread and butter is bringing in people from the sports and entertainment industry and kind of letting kids make that real world connection,” McSweeney said.

Additionally, McSweeney serves as a mentor for students and helps answer questions, critique resumes and and prepare students for interviews.   

“The grad assistant before me, Kelsey, did a really good job of helping us and being there for us. I kind of took that from her and I’m here now to help kids to have the same opportunities that I did when I was an undergrad,” McSweeney said. 

After graduation, McSweeney plans to keep her options open. McSweeney said that her position at the Center allows her to meet new people and learn about a variety of jobs.

“Obviously getting a career in sports is difficult and everyone’s path is very different, so at this point I’m keeping my opportunities open,” McSweeney said. “But I’m really excited to be in the position that I am to help all the other kids and see where they go, so wherever it kind of takes me is where I’m going.”