Amid the excitement of Fan Appreciation Week and the close of the regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights opened the doors of their front office to a special group of students from the DREAM Foundation.
These six students – each representing a different Historically Black College and University (HBCU) – received first-hand sports business experience, shadowing or working alongside members of the VGK marketing and game entertainment staffs during three Vegas Golden Knights home games at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas is one of only three NHL teams currently partnered with the DREAM Foundation.
“This week has been fantastic for these students,” said Tymier Farrar, himself a former DREAM student who is a recent graduate of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. “They have had the opportunity to not only shadow, learn, or be mentored by professionals from the Vegas Golden Knights, but they have also been immersed in the city of Las Vegas, obviously a growing market as it relates to sports and entertainment. The students are not only exposed to different sports, but also different parts of each organization.”
In addition, the students made presentations to members of the VGK front office, including President & CEO Kerry Bubolz, that represented the culmination of a semester’s worth of work. In groups, the students presented proposals for a new community engagement initiative designed specifically for the Vegas Golden Knights.
“I appreciate the fresh perspective these students brought to their projects and the obvious care and effort they put into them,” Bubolz said. “They have bright futures in our industry and I’m proud that we can play a small part in their path.”
This marks the second year in a row that the Golden Knights have partnered with the DREAM Foundation. The effort gives the organization a chance to support historically underserved students from HBCUs while exposing them to a sport they may not otherwise get to see. Long-term, the hope is to give the Golden Knights – and the NHL more broadly – access to another source of talent as it seeks to fill future front office opportunities.
“I believe it’s important to reach the organizations, leagues and clubs that are looking to diversify,” said Dr. Mark Clifford, Executive Director of the DREAM Foundation. “We are driven to provide opportunities for diverse students searching for careers in sports. Our mission is to be a catalyst to an inclusive and diverse sports industry. The hope is that these students will become leaders in the sports industry themselves and to be able to further effect change and the support from VGK is a testament to their commitment.”
To learn more about the DREAM Foundation, visit dreamfoundationaz.org.
