Kate Donlevy
Dr. Jackson
Journalism 271
18 October 2013
“High
Heels and Football Fields”
When she's not
sprinting through the Grand Central Station in high heels or tending
to her two children in Darien, Conn., Renie Anderson spends her time
in a Park Avenue office making a name for herself with the National
Football League. Being named a “game changer” by Sports Business
Daily, Anderson is proving to the world that the NFL has room for
women too.
After leaving the
small farm in Kentucky where she grew up, Anderson attended the
University of Mississippi to earn her undergraduate degree. Majoring
in journalism, Anderson always assumed she would become a writer and
build a great novel or maybe even attend law school. What she never
saw coming, however, was a career in the NFL.
“My career path
was sort of a mistake” Anderson said. While she admits that a job
in sports was never her original plan, she has successfully found her
place in this company. Starting her career out of college as
receptionist, Anderson worked her way up the corporate ladder to land
a dream job that she has held on to for the past seven years and
hopes to keep for a lifetime. When asked if she has ever felt
intimidated by the fact that football is typically thought of as a
man's career field, Anderson could not disagree more.
“The NFL trusts
me to do my job because I'm the best at it” Anderson said. Each
day, Anderson pitches her brand to companies such as Bridgestone,
Covergirl, and Proctor and Gamble. Because she works with such well
known names, she believes that she has to sell her brand in the least
complicated way possible. Anderson uses the skills she learned as a
journalism student to tell a story when pitching to prospective
clients rather than just begging them for their money.
While many people
perceive careers in sports to be full of glamour, Anderson will be
the first to tell you otherwise. Any given Sunday at a football game
she dresses the same way she would for work in the office. Complete
with a dress and heels, Anderson must tend to prospective clients
rather than watch the game herself. Anderson hasn't even watched one
of the past seven Super Bowls, although she attended each one.
Anderson says that
the keys to success are taking every opportunity given to you and
most importantly, being willing to do anything. Anything with
integrity, that is.
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