BY CALEB STAYTON | Ball State Baseball | Ball State Sports Link
The school year is quickly approaching an end. However, the end of this school year is vastly different than any other I have had before. It’s my last.
My four years at Ball State have come and gone, and I am left to reflect on some of the best times of my life.
For my whole life, sports have been my greatest hobby. I was dreaming about last second shots, game ending touchdowns and walk off home runs before I could even read or write. Sports have been an integral part of my life and my family.
As I continued to play a wide variety of sports growing up, baseball began to stand out far above the rest. I loved playing and worked hard at it and was able to earn a scholarship to play at Ball State University.
However, this love of sports didn’t stop on the field.
I chose to major in Digital Sports Production for the sole reason that I loved sports. I figured working with sports would be my type of education. Boy was I right!
When I showed up on campus, I had never worked with a camera, performed an interview or edited anything in my life. I didn’t know that I was in the most prestigious program in the country.
I didn’t know the hours demanded in Sports Link would be as much as I would have to put into baseball at the D-1 level. All I knew was I loved sports.
One of the reasons that I will always say that Ball State is the best telecommunications school in the nation is for the sole fact that they were able to take me from somebody who didn’t have the slightest clue what white balance was, to somebody who has helped produce features on my athletic peers, games for ESPN 3 and a whole show on my baseball team all in a short four years.
If you had told me that when I first stepped on campus, I would have thought you were crazy.
No matter what you are doing in life or the type of skill set you have, the thing that matters most is whether or not you are passionate about what you do.
I didn’t have one skill set in my toolbox when I stepped on campus. All I had was a love for sports. That love carried me through all the struggles that came with learning. If you have passion, you can be successful.
Looking back on my time at Ball State, I came in a dreamer and left as a doer.
Ball State is unique in that you don’t have to have any prior experience to be successful. They will teach you everything you need to know better than anybody could. All Ball State requires is that you have a passion and follow it.
I am beyond thankful for the professors, friends and opportunities I had at Ball State. Sports Link will only become bigger and better every year. I am grateful I had the chance to work in the best program in the country, and I will forever be a proud alum.
