Episode 31: Aggie Dent, Podcast Host & Sports Management Major at NYU

This episode of The K.P. Wee Podcast features a young woman who has launched a sports media career that includes a podcast featured in 36 countries. And she hasn't even graduated college yet! Aggie Dent, a senior at New York University studying Sports Management and minoring in Studio Art, shares her pandemic experience with developing global relationships and exploring new media platforms. In a far-ranging interview recorded two days before Major League Baseball's 2021 Opening Day, K.P. asks Aggie to share thoughts on everything from the overlapping beauties art and sports share to marketing and communications internships at Formula E and FC Bayern Munich to how the Alabama native picks her favorite sports teams.  Aggie explains how her podcast, Adventures with Aggie, got started and the ways in which it has evolved over its inaugural year. She focuses on sharing the stories of athletes and sporting professionals of all sports and backgrounds. K.P. solicits lots of helpful advice for young people who would like to pursue careers in the sports industry, especially within the realm of podcasting and sports branding and management. They round out their conversation with thoughts on staying open to opportunities in life. "Take a leap of faith" is advice commonly given to those launching a career. But Aggie embraces a different philosophy: "Take a baby step!" That's where her journey started and she plans to keep advancing her goals by putting one foot in front of the other and staying curious, open and excited all along the way. You can find "Adventures with Aggie" here. If you're a fan of this podcast's intro music, please follow Roger Chong: Twitter @chongroger and Instagram @chongroger KEY TOPICS: (02:55): What NY sports teams Aggie, an Alabama native, cheers on. (04:34): How sports and art overlap in Aggie's view. She loves the fact that the two complement each other and uses various media to communicate the technique and beauty present in both. (06:54): The Adventures with Aggie podcast – how it has evolved and where she hopes to take it in the future.  (08:30): Pending topics that Aggie will be featuring in upcoming podcasts. (09:15): What got Aggie started on her podcast? Quarantine boredom, at first! Then, increasingly, genuine curiosity and the excitement in hearing stories. (11:58): Aggie's advice of aspiring podcasters.  First off, you never know until you try!  Then keep at it. In her case, she organically grew to find listeners in 36 countries! Have fun with it! (14:35): Formula E and how Aggie got involved with electric car racing. (15:53): Aggie's role at NYU's Sports Business Society (for professional networking and community service events).  (17:28): A few ideas for would-be incoming students at NYU. How to get the most out of the experience: Reach out and solicit support/mentoring from older students. Pursue and utilize internship, volunteer and other opportunities. (19:40): How Aggie connected with overseas sports teams and what those working relationships look like in the day-to-day (or 24-hour day when it comes to her remote, global relationships). (22:34): Aggie ponders what has been most rewarding about her podcast and other experiences thus far in her career: Meeting a huge array of athletes with amazing stories. Creating community with all the fascinating guests she has met. Experiencing the trust others put in her as a host. (20:20): What it's like when emotions – positive or negative – come up in a podcast interview. Some have difficulty sharing their struggles, but they appreciate the platform and opportunity to tell their own stories. (27:06): Aggie's best advice to young people aspiring to whatever career: Stay open and try anything and everything. (Aggie never imagined as a freshman that she'd be speaking to strangers on Zoom as a senior).  It's okay not to know exactly what you want to do. Internships are a great way to test many different types of careers. (28:58): Where to find the Adventures with Aggie podcast and new episodes as they come out.  KEY QUOTES: (04:44): "Sports in itself is art. You can't look at a Hail Mary in football and not say that's a work of art." (07:39): "I wanted to dive deeper into storytelling." (07:49): "I'm focused on delivering the stories of athletes off the field and how their sport has defined what they have done with their lives." (08:30): "We have lots of different content for the rest of the year about lots of different sports." (11:00): "Curiosity pushes the show a lot." (12:10): "When I was starting out I didn't really mean to start a podcast … then people wanted more of your content." (13:26): "I enjoy every single one of my episodes. Maybe it's because I have that curiosity, that I want to know more but I love it!" (17:00): "Being able to speak with all these people from all around the world has been a really cool experience." (20:02): "If we weren't remote right now I wouldn't be working for these incredible teams across the world." (21:16): "I record at all hours of the day because my guests are from all over the world. So I'll wake up at 5am to record because that's when somebody can do it."  (22:00): "It's amazing to see the international sports world come together during these virtual times and how it allows for all of these different experiences." (23:38): "Knowing that people trust me enough to share their stories and what has happened in their life … is so rewarding. And some of them are my friends now." (25:45): "I tell every single guest: I'm not trying to ask you hard questions. That's not the point of the show. The point of the show is to deliver your story in the way that you want to." (28:05): "I didn't know (as a college freshman) what I wanted to do and that's okay. You don't have to know what you want to do. Once you've tried all the things you think you want to try, then you can know what you want to do." (28:18): "'Try everything' is the most vital piece of advice – advice that I also received as a freshman."   Follow Aggie: Website: www.adventureswithaggie.com @LinkedIn @Twitter Formula E Racing: https://www.fiaformulae.com   About K.P. Wee:  K.P. Wee is the author of multiple books and a regular contributor to sports radio programs and websites. In addition to hosting The K.P. Wee Podcast, he also enjoys writing sports and psychological fiction with a twist of romance. He spent a decade working as a program developer and instructor for a private school before joining the Vancouver Canadians baseball club's media relations department.  You can find out more about books by K.P. Wee here. Follow K.P. Wee: K.P. @Twitter Additional episodes of the K.P. Wee Podcast: https://kpwee.libsyn.com