Graduate Assistant Spotlight: Katie Schaum
1/26/2024 1:00:00 PM | General
Boise State Athletics is spotlighting the graduate assistants who work to help each department within athletics run smoothly while obtaining their master's degree. These features will tell the stories of graduate assistants while also giving information on what each department within Boise State Athletics does.
Katie Schaum is a second-year graduate assistant (GA) working in the marketing & promotions department at Boise State Athletics while pursuing a degree in the Master of Athletic Leadership (MAL) program.
"We essentially do everything you see at the game but the game itself," said Schaum. "That includes music, video board, on court or field promotions, tailgating and anything happening in the crowd with the student section."
Outside of game day, the department heavily focuses its attention on advertising, increasing fan attendance, helping coordinate social media posts and branding. It also determines which community events are beneficial to attend and what student-athletes should make an appearance in order to have the biggest impact.
Schaum applied to the MAL program after accepting her graduate assistantship in marketing & promotions. She applied for the role after working remotely for two years because she missed athletics and never had the chance to fully use her sport administration degree from Lewis-Clark State due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
"Specifically, with Katie, it was the creativity and experience she had that stood out," said her supervisor and assistant athletic director of marketing & promotions, Josh Bender. "She worked with the Seattle Storm in the WNBA and had done some really unique and creative things with them. She brought a new perspective that we didn't have in the department because everyone else has always worked in college athletics."
Schaum oversees the marketing efforts for volleyball and gymnastics at Boise State. Some of her sport-specific responsibilities include solely running the volleyball social media pages, helping create posts for gymnastics' social media platforms and taking student-athletes onto campus to promote upcoming home events with the student body.
"Katie has been an instrumental piece of our program these past two years," said director of operations for Boise State gymnastics, Lauren Drinane. "She is constantly looking for what is best for our program, going above and beyond to tell our story. We are grateful to have someone like Katie on our team!"
Boise State gymnastics is currently in the middle of its 2024 campaign, with their next home meet coming up on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena. The Broncos will host Iowa State for a dual and tickets for the meet can be purchased at broncosports.com/tickets.
Other tasks Schaum helps with include working the video board for women's basketball, running all on-court promotions for men's basketball and coordinating on-field promotions at football games, such as cuing Cathy Jo and the horse when to run out and making sure the Blitz race happens on time. This year she is also guiding the marketing & promotions internship program, leading the gymnastics external pod and running in-game marketing elements for softball.
After her time working in Boise State Athletics and obtaining her MAL degree, Schaum wants to either continue working in college athletics in marketing & promotions or for a professional sports team in community relations. The experiences she's gained in the classroom and work space have shown her the importance of being a good leader and building strong relationships.
"I've learned that being a leader doesn't just mean you have authority over others," said Schaum. "It's about showing that you care about the people around you and want to reach your goals together, and that's something that this department does. I feel like I can have meaningful conversations with everyone from Jeramiah (Dickey) down, and know that we all want to see each other be successful."
Katie Schaum is a second-year graduate assistant (GA) working in the marketing & promotions department at Boise State Athletics while pursuing a degree in the Master of Athletic Leadership (MAL) program.
"We essentially do everything you see at the game but the game itself," said Schaum. "That includes music, video board, on court or field promotions, tailgating and anything happening in the crowd with the student section."
Outside of game day, the department heavily focuses its attention on advertising, increasing fan attendance, helping coordinate social media posts and branding. It also determines which community events are beneficial to attend and what student-athletes should make an appearance in order to have the biggest impact.
Schaum applied to the MAL program after accepting her graduate assistantship in marketing & promotions. She applied for the role after working remotely for two years because she missed athletics and never had the chance to fully use her sport administration degree from Lewis-Clark State due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
"Specifically, with Katie, it was the creativity and experience she had that stood out," said her supervisor and assistant athletic director of marketing & promotions, Josh Bender. "She worked with the Seattle Storm in the WNBA and had done some really unique and creative things with them. She brought a new perspective that we didn't have in the department because everyone else has always worked in college athletics."
Schaum oversees the marketing efforts for volleyball and gymnastics at Boise State. Some of her sport-specific responsibilities include solely running the volleyball social media pages, helping create posts for gymnastics' social media platforms and taking student-athletes onto campus to promote upcoming home events with the student body.
"Katie has been an instrumental piece of our program these past two years," said director of operations for Boise State gymnastics, Lauren Drinane. "She is constantly looking for what is best for our program, going above and beyond to tell our story. We are grateful to have someone like Katie on our team!"
Boise State gymnastics is currently in the middle of its 2024 campaign, with their next home meet coming up on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena. The Broncos will host Iowa State for a dual and tickets for the meet can be purchased at broncosports.com/tickets.
Other tasks Schaum helps with include working the video board for women's basketball, running all on-court promotions for men's basketball and coordinating on-field promotions at football games, such as cuing Cathy Jo and the horse when to run out and making sure the Blitz race happens on time. This year she is also guiding the marketing & promotions internship program, leading the gymnastics external pod and running in-game marketing elements for softball.
After her time working in Boise State Athletics and obtaining her MAL degree, Schaum wants to either continue working in college athletics in marketing & promotions or for a professional sports team in community relations. The experiences she's gained in the classroom and work space have shown her the importance of being a good leader and building strong relationships.
"I've learned that being a leader doesn't just mean you have authority over others," said Schaum. "It's about showing that you care about the people around you and want to reach your goals together, and that's something that this department does. I feel like I can have meaningful conversations with everyone from Jeramiah (Dickey) down, and know that we all want to see each other be successful."
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