By Jordan Schuchmann
My name is Jordan Schuchmann, and I am a senior at the University of Southern California. I am currently pursuing a dual degree in business administration and broadcast journalism, with the goal of working in the sports industry after I graduate.
I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but I have lived in Atlanta, Georgia my entire life. Throughout my life, I have always loved travelling. I have been all over the United States, Asia, Europe and Africa. One of my goals in life before I die is to visit all seven continents, yes, even Antarctica.
My favorite genre of music is country. I have seen almost every big country artists live multiple times, and Stagecoach is one of my favorite events of the year. Country music is relatable, and the songs share a lot of the same values as me. My dream is to become a country singer/songwriter, but sadly I have no musical talent.
Growing up, I played almost every sport imaginable: from fencing to basketball to lacrosse. In high school, I focused on football and lacrosse, the two sports I excelled at most. One of the greatest feelings in the world is being on the field, under the lights next to my best friends fighting for a win.
When I was eight months old, I attended my first sporting event: an Atlanta Falcons football game. My family has Falcons season tickets, and I have been going to for the last 21 years. In the hard plastic seats of the Georgia Dome was where my passion for sports sprouted, and it has been growing ever since.
My parents attended the University of Iowa, and my dad raised me a diehard Hawkeyes fan. We used to travel to bowl games in Florida every year, road tripping down with two of my uncles. My first bowl game was the 2002 Orange Bowl when the Hawkeyes took on Carson Palmer and the USC Trojans…and boy did we get destroyed. That game was the day at began to loathe the Trojans, and did so vehemently until the day I was accepted.
When I came to USC, I had the dream of becoming a sports agent. To kickstart my career, I worked on the USC football team as a student manager during the rollercoaster ride that was the 2013 season (the season Kiffin’s joyride came to a screeching halt). During that season I learned that becoming the next Jerry Maguire was not the right career choice for me, as I do not have the personality for it, and instead I decided sports media was where I really wanted to work. So, the next fall I added a broadcast journalism major.
Since adding the journalism degree, my career goals have been all over the place. After having a strong desire to become Kirk Herbstreit’s replacement, I recently came to the conclusion that I would rather work behind the scenes as either a producer or on the business side of things in the front office of a team. Even though becoming a journalist is not exactly a career goal of mine right now, the skills I am learning are important for any career path I find myself on.