College Sports Information Directors of America

This feature is one of the many profiles we are doing to showcase our diverse CoSIDA membership during 2016 CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week. To see all the feature stories leading up to - and during - CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week, please click HERE.


OUR STORIES
Candice Kelm
Sports Information Specialist, McLennan Community College
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Committee district coordinator (soccer/softball)
CoSIDA Publications & Digital Design Committee member  

by Rob Knox, Towson University Associate Director of Athletic Media Relations/
CoSIDA 2nd Vice President/CoSIDA Week Committee member
 
With a background in journalism and a love of sports, Candice Kelm joined the McLennan athletic department as Sports Information Specialist in 2006. During her time in the business, she has already made a significant impact. A member of CoSIDA, Kelm is a founding member of 2ySIDA, the association for sports information directors of two-year colleges. She serves on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® and Publications and Digital Design committees. Kelm was a recipient of a 2015 CoSIDA Convention attendance grant, an all-expenses paid professional development grant to attend the Orlando convention.
 
Before coming to McLennan, Kelm spent three years teaching journalism and business at her alma mater, La Vega High School, where she also served as newspaper, yearbook and student council sponsor. After graduating from La Vega in 1997, Kelm attended McLennan for two years before transferring to Baylor University. She graduated from Baylor in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in journalism and business.
 
What’s been the most enjoyable part of your time at McLennan?
Kelm: McLennan is an amazing place. It is one of the most beautiful college campuses in Texas, located on hills overlooking the Bosque River. It’s nice to look out my office window on the third floor and see all the oak trees with squirrels running around and students studying or lounging on the lawn. But the best part of McLennan is the people. It truly is a family atmosphere. McLennan is heavily involved in the Waco area and has large groups of

employees and students who participate in activities such as the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the Walk for the Homeless, Heart Walk, and many other volunteer opportunities. McLennan believes in serving the community that supports us.
 
What’s been some of your most meaningful accomplishments during your time at McLennan that you are proud of?

Kelm: I’m proud of the increased coverage our teams have continued to garner from local and national media. Being a community college located less than five miles from Baylor University, we are sometimes overshadowed. Since taking this position 10 years ago, I have developed and nurtured professional and personal relationships with members of the media. We respect one another and know that we can trust each other to get our jobs done. They all know that I will provide them with accurate information in a timely manner, and they are comfortable with making special requests of me. Our athletics website, www.McLennanAthletics.com, is what I consider to be my greatest accomplishment.
 
In your opinion, what’s the most important part of an athletic communicator’s role and what makes you excited to show up every morning Why?

Kelm: I believe never losing sight of our primary responsibility – the student-athletes – is the most important part of an athletic communicator’s role. We are here to be advocates for them, to tell their stories and celebrate their accomplishments in the classroom, on the playing field and in life in general. The best part of our job is the relationships we build with these young adults. I cherish the opportunity to mentor them and be a positive role model as they step out into the “real world.”
 
What advice would you give somebody wanting to enter the business?

Kelm: Find a mentor and spend as much time as possible observing and working with them. Having entered the field with no real knowledge of what I was getting myself into, I can see the incredible value of mentors and internships. However, it is also important to always be yourself and focus on your own strengths. Just because a mentor or peer has developed a way of developing content or completing other tasks that works for them, it may or may not be the best strategy for you. See what works for others and combine that with your own talents and skills to find your own techniques and processes.
 
How cool was it being a teacher before becoming an athletics communication professional?

Kelm: I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my students in and out of the classroom. I was able to teach them not only the subject matter but life lessons as well. Many of them came from broken homes and never had a stable home life. I strove to be the positive role model they needed and to be sure they always knew that someone believed in them and cared about them. I chose journalism as my elective (in high school) and Mrs. Richter took me under her wing. With her guidance, I discovered that I could combine the passion for sports that I learned from my mom with my love of writing. At the time though, I wasn’t aware that sports communication could be a career.
 
What made you - and other SIDs at two-year colleges - start 2YSIDA and how valuable has it been?

Kelm: At my first CoSIDA Convention in 2014, a group of two-year sports information professionals met to discuss issues that are unique to us on the small-school level. The 2ySIDA organization gives us an opportunity to interact with our SIDs that deal with the same types of struggles on a daily basis.

I learn a great deal by attending CoSIDA events, but not all of it is relevant to my duties at McLennan. The 2ySIDA members understand what it’s like to work in a smaller environment, most often in one-man, or in my case, one-woman shops. We help each other brain storm ideas for streamlining some of our duties and work together to provide learning opportunities that we can take back to our colleges’ departments.
 
What are some of the coolest or strangest road trips you have taken with your teams?

Kelm: I love McLennan and my job here. Every day is fun in a different way. Some of my fondest memories are road trips with the various teams. We’ve shared a lot of laughs and some tears. From the men’s basketball team singing “Happy Birthday” to Coach Greene in a crowded restaurant (believe me, there is a reason why they are basketball players and not part of the McLennan Chorale!) to bus breakdowns that led to the baseball team being on a party bus with a stripper pole, you never know what a road trip will bring. We’ve been to some beautiful places such as Daytona Beach, Florida, for dance nationals each year; Grand Junction, Colorado, for the JUCO World Series; and St. George, Utah, for the softball national tournament.
 
More About Kelm
Kelm is a Mickey Mouse collector and a Disney fanatic. Other than Disney, one of the favorite places the avid football fan who just upgraded her satellite package enjoys visiting are the mountains. She loves the cooler climates and abundance of wildlife. She’s fond of moose and elk and has been known to be following them with a camera.