Graduate Assistant Spotlight: Kiersten Hart

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.

Kiersten Hart is a second-year graduate assistant (GA) working in the creative services department at Boise State Athletics while pursuing a degree in the Master of Athletic Leadership (MAL) program.

The creative services department at Boise State consists of four areas – live production, postproduction, graphic design and athletic photography. Hart specifically works in the postproduction branch of the department, where she is part of a team responsible for everything fans see on social media and in venue.

"In postproduction we help promote the stories that coaches and student-athletes want to share with their fans and the public about their sport or themselves," said Hart.

Hart is responsible for getting content of the softball and women's golf student-athletes during their practices and weight room sessions, as well as other creative content such as jersey reveals and outside team activities. She also gathers pregame and in-game content for her teams and travels with them for road games.

"Since I've been here, social media has been our way of getting our name and story out there to the public and with Kiersten being around so much, she's really been able to put out some great content that has positively impacted our program and branding," said Boise State Softball's Head Coach Justin Shults. "My first year here we went through a learning curve of not knowing how important getting the early road game content was going to be and now, with the added resources, we are able to do that. The quality of work she gets us is awesome and she's been worth every penny we've spent on traveling her."

Boise State softball starts its 2024 campaign today with games against Northwestern at 10:30 a.m. MT and St. Thomas at 1:15 p.m. MT at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Broncos' home opener is set for March 7 against Kennesaw State, followed by Utah Valley later that day.

In addition to her day-to-day work, Hart also provides guidance for Kyla Cammack, an intern in creative services, as they work collaboratively to support the gymnastics program.

"As one of the few women on the postproduction side of creative services, there's a level of comfortability that Kyla and I have," said Hart. "I really enjoy being able to lead, which goes hand-in-hand with the MAL and lets me help Kyla grow and improve her craft through advice and critiques."

Hart also helps with set design for specialty shoots. Dominic Shelden, assistant athletic director, creative services, brought up that Hart actually does more of set design than any of the full-time staff because of how much she enjoys it.

"There aren't necessarily added responsibilities that we give our graduate assistants, so much as it is expanded trust," said Shelden. "We give a lot of autonomy to them and they're encouraged to utilize that and you can really see that in Kiersten's enjoyment in set design. We're able to get her the raw materials she needs to build something and give her that opportunity."

Prior to working with Boise State Athletics, Hart was introduced to content creation in athletics while in high school, where she helped create hype videos for the football team. She was initially added to the creative services staff as a GA through her relationship with her supervisor, and director of creative services (postproduction), Alex Bell. The two met at Stephen F. Austin State while Hart was working toward her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

"When I was looking for a GA, I wanted someone who did not need to be micromanaged and I knew I could leave them be and would always get the job done," said Bell. "I wasn't looking for the most talented, creative person, but the most dependable and that's Kiersten down to her core. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever job I give her she is going to do it perfectly the first time."

After speaking with Shelden and Dr. Scott Moorcroft, director of the MAL program, Hart was all in on participating in a program that would improve her leadership skills and give her a masters degree, while having the opportunity to grow as a content creator. Her long-term goal is to become a creative director for an agency or university.

"The biggest change I have seen in her is her confidence as a leader," said Bell. "At SFA it was usually her just following my directions, but here she is taking command and leading the creative charge on her own. When she is in the room, whether it's a meeting, shoot or game day, she knows exactly what needs to be done and the best way to do it. At SFA she was the student, but here at Boise State, she's now the teacher."

For Hart, the best part of working in Boise State Athletics has been the game day experience. She had a chance to experience it partially at her undergrad, but it was not to the same extent.

"Everyone comes out to support the teams because they want to see each other succeed," said Hart. "The positive energy that comes out from all of the staff when it comes to supporting the student-athletes and the different sports at Boise State is unmatched. It's been one of the best parts about working for Boise State and something that I'll always love."

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