by Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of Professional Development and External Affairs
Prior to launching our inaugural CoSIDA Recognition Week (Nov. 7-14) where we will showcase numerous CoSIDA members in a "Our Stories" feature series, we are spotlighting several CoSIDA news members. Today we showcase two CoSIDA members who have launched a popular website entitled "SparklesandSports.com - Resources for Women in Sports" - Katie Gwinn Hewitt, University of Michigan assistant director of external communications and PR and Olivia Coiro, UNC Greensboro assistant director of athletics communications.
This spotlight follows our November 3rd CoSIDA Week preview Q&A with Gene McGivern, University of St. Thomas (Minn.) Sports Information Director as he was featured in St. Thomas' "
Stories of the Storytellers" series.
Hewitt and Coiro are two active millennial athletic communicators and are filling a void by writing - and inviting guest writers to pen their thoughts - on the
SparklesandSports website where they discuss pertinent topics for young, female professionals working in a professional career which is dominated by their male colleagues.
They met while both served in assistant SID roles at schools who were members of NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference. Hewitt worked at the University of Tampa as a media relations intern and Coiro was at Lynn University, serving as assistant SID.
Last fall, ironically the two moved from their D2 roles to their respective Division I institutions within a two week period.
At Michigan, Hewitt serves as the primary athletic communications contact for the volleyball and baseball programs.
Back in their Sunshine State Conference days -
Hewitt (l) and Coiro in 2015.
Coiro also joined UNCG in 2015 and is the main media relations contact for women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, women's basketball, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and softball.
This summer, Hewitt and Coiro brainstormed and came up with the idea of doing this website/blog, which now has 20 entries written by Hewitt, Coiro and guest contributors. These are voices and perspectives from women and men in college athletic communications hitting on trending topics important to females in the profession.
The idea for SparklesandSports was the brainchild of Hewitt, who Coiro calls "the creative genius behind the idea."
"This past spring, Katie came to me and asked me who my female mentor was in our profession. I could not answer as I did not have a fellow female SID to turn to when I needed advice or anything like that. Katie then asked me if I had a male mentor in our profession and I quickly could think of a few that I turn to when I need advice. Back to female mentors. Who was the person or persons I turned to when I needed advice on my decision to move on from the place that launched my career? Katie. That brings me back to where we are now and why we are creating this website. Our wish wish for this website is that we can create a place to inspire and support other females in our very male-driven industry."
Hewitt concurs about the mission of SparklesandSports.
"The purpose of starting our blog was to provide other women with resources, and we were so glad to get such positive feedback and readership when we launched it," Hewitt said. "In addition, we are excited to have nine guest contributors to date. It is empwering to hold Q&As with female leaders in the profession. We appreciate all the comments and conversations following the posts."
Both Hewitt and Coiro offer different perspectives as young athletic communications professionals. Katie is recently married, while Olivia has worked in all three NCAA divisions which she believes gives her a unique look at SID life.
You can read more about the trending topics and issues discussed on SparklesandSports HERE.
Here are some of the blog posts to date, reflecting an honest, open and gritty look at the realities facing young female professionals:
• You Got the Job! Now What?
• You Won't Sleep Unitl You're Dead (tips to help you stay well-rested, even without a lot of sleep)
• That Time of the Month
• Better Late Than Never (breaking into the sports profession for the first time)
• Working Women: Defying Gender Roles
• The Ugly Truth: Bullying in the Sports Profession
• Female Leadership: A Man's Perspective
• Sideline Swagger
They also have a resource list on the website, with a listing of articles and posts on job interview secrets, writing thank you notes and an advice column for young women, written by Chelsea Handler.
The blog is picking up traction and sparking interest from others in the intercollegiate space, and the duo have been asked to write some collaborative columns for these online platforms. Also - stay tuned to see their thoughts in an upcoming issue of our CoSIDA360 magazine!
Both Coiro and Hewitt are interested in getting more involved with CoSIDA work and plan to be involved in convention sessions as they pertain to millennials and women in the profession.
Coiro's interest in getting more involved in CoSIDA grew after she was featured in a CoSIDA 360 magazine story on job transitioning from one division to another. She is involved in CoSIDA's Mentorship program (her mentor is CoSIDA board member Bill Dyer of Virgina Tech). You might have read one of her SparklesandSports blog posts on CoSIDA Connect entitled "A League of Extraordinary Women" where she interviewed four mothers who are in the SID profession - Sue Edson (Syracuse); Cindy Potter (Columbia College, and president of NAIA-SIDA); Ann King (Sage College); Phylicia Short (Queens University).
You can see more of their work on the following page. Here, we've posted Hewitt's musings on "Growth Tip: Ask For Feedback" and have featured a Coiro blog entitled "You Won't Sleep Until You're Dead."
Taking the extra time to develop the website and keep it timely and fresh is important to both women.
As Hewitt writes, "Simply put, we are creating this blog to help women like us. Our vision for this website is to create a collection of resources, advice, and tips for women looking to enter this profession as well as women already established in it. Our goal is to learn alongside you all and find out what it truly takes to break through the metaphorical glass ceiling and sparkle in the land of sports."
Follow Hewitt on Twitter via @kfgwinning; follow Coiro on Twitter (@livcoiro). You can contact Coiro and Hewitt and sign up for blog updates at this page.
CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week Starts Monday, Nov. 7
The first CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week takes place Monday-Sunday, Nov. 7-13, to raise awareness for 
CoSIDA members. The mission of Recognition Week is "to show appreciation for college sports information professionals and to bring positive recognition to them and to their work in promoting student-athletes." We will be running special features and photos of CoSIDA members all week long on our CoSIDA.com, @CoSIDAnews and Instagram (cosidacosida) platforms. A series of letters in support of CoSIDA members have been mailed to ADs and conference commissioners, and there will be acknowledgment of athletic communications on national, regional and local cable sports TV broadcasts. Check CoSIDA.com and @CoSIDAnews for more info and downloads and graphics.