How Warm Tea and Recruiting Helped Me Find My Dream

As a 19-year old forced to make a life-changing decision by selecting a college major, I spun the wheel and landed on healthcare administration. Helping those who were sick, and particularly my ardor to interact with the elderly demographic were among the top reasons I landed on the decision.

Plus, Google indicated it would be a fruitful career choice.

But after two and a half years in the healthcare industry, I am taking my talents to South Beach to join the Miami Heat switching gears in my professional life, and have accepted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cover college basketball for CBS Sports.

After graduating from Northeastern State University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, I marched on to complete my master’s degree from Oklahoma State-Tulsa in just a year and a half.

During that time, I have had many meaningful experiences and employment opportunities in Tulsa. I worked nights in a downtown Tulsa emergency room, and learned that you can, in fact, faint at the sight of blood (kidding, mostly).

I tried my hand as an assistant for a successful executive, where I gained valuable experience learning to make warm Earl Grey tea, and more seriously, how to build relationships and conduct myself in a professional setting.

I have followed Oklahoma State for the entirety of my existence thanks to a family full of irrationally optimistic Cowboy fans.

Near the end of my college career, I gained an interest in recruiting which lead to the start of a Twitter account in 2014 I named “The Okie Pokie.” And by gaining an interest, I mean I was angry about OSU losing a star basketball recruit. This was my first ever tweet.

Austin Grandstaff (2015 commit) decommitted yesterday and says his "recruiting is wide open, no favorites." http://t.co/uD6v1pr7kk #okstate

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) February 7, 2014

What started as a hobby managing an account that followed recruiting, eventually lead to a connection with a guy named Kyle Porter, whose first contact with me was a DM that said, “Dude, you’re crushing twitter.” Followed by a more to-the-point, “Who are you?”

Kyle, editor emeritus and proprietor of a website called Pistols Firing Blog (where you are reading this story), suggested I pick up a part-time hobby writing about OSU recruiting.

After a year covering recruiting in a small capacity, Kyle offered to pay me to write for his website in an expanded role covering hoops, football, recruiting, and any controversial Boone Pickens comments – of which there have been just a few.

Kyle has pushed me in my writing to think outside the box, identify content from a unique lens I never used before, and challenge myself as a writer to become better each day. He gave me an opportunity to put words on a website and saw a potential in me and believed in me, of which I will be forever grateful.

I will continue to write for Pistols Firing. But starting next week, I am leaving my current employment arrangement and will be covering college basketball for CBS Sports. I could not be more thrilled.

If you’re on Twitter, and would like to follow my personal and professional journey (I keep it PG), please follow me by clicking here.