College Sports Information Directors of America

Kristina (Kris) Petersen is in her first year as the Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications at Penn State after being promoted to the position in early October. Petersen is in her 14th year as a Nittany Lion athletic communications staffer overall, and has covered a plethora of supports including football and women's basketball. She has been the main communications contact for Penn State football the last five years.

In announcing Petersen's recent promotion, PSU Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour stated: "I am ecstatic that Kris will be leading our ever-important Strategic Communications unit … She possesses all the skills and expertise of a successful 21st century communicator, and is a strong and compassionate leader."

Petersen began her media relations career as a student assistant at Division III Mansfield University. A four-year softball letterwinner who earned NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors twice, Kris got interested in SID work as a senior and worked alongside CoSIDA Hall of Famer Steve McCloskey. Petersen went on to work at the Big East Conference, Patriot League and Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League) prior to her arrival at Penn State.

 

You recently transitioned into the Associate AD for Strategic Communications role. Congratulations! What has that transition been like?
Thank you. It has been a good transition but the transition is still in progress as I'll stay in my role with football at least through the end of the season. Right now, I'm handling the responsibilities for both positions, but I'm really looking forward to this next step in my career. I've enjoyed spending time discussing our process with our entire department and beginning to create our strategic vision.

We are asking each Recognition Week featured member to provide a professional development tip to share as part of their profile. What is yours?
My professional development tip is to be as involved in as many aspects of your office as possible and be proactive in seeking opportunities to help wherever possible with higher profile sports – even with the small projects or tasks (every task is important, no matter how big or small it may feel). The more you make yourself available, the more you can learn about the different aspects of our business.

What is the biggest career lesson that you've learned?
The biggest career lesson I have learned is to always keep pushing to get better and don't be afraid to throw thoughts and ideas out there. If you keep growing, whether it be by being inquisitive or pushing for your teams or yourself, then you will make the organization as whole better. It doesn't matter if you went to a small Division II school like I did, make the most out of the opportunities you have and make great relationships that will help you for the rest of your career and life. 

 

What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
The advice I would give someone who wants to follow in my footsteps would be: try to get as many different experiences as possible and continue to develop your skills. The more experiences you have, the broader base of knowledge you have when looking to move up in positions. The same could be said for developing skills; the more well-rounded you are as a strategic communications professional, the more ways you can contribute to your department and the athletics department as a whole. Technology is continually changing, and you have to stay up on trends as best you can.

How do you have fun at work?
It's easy to have fun at work when you love what you do and work with your good friends and tremendous student-athletes. We spend a lot of time together, so you become family.

When I asked if you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you're committed to in your work and life, you mentioned three people. And, all of them are CoSIDA Hall of Famers! Tell us more about them.
From a professional standpoint, I am fortunate to have so many great mentors, but there are definitely three people with whom I still rely on their advice and who helped me get where I am today. Steve McCloskey, who was the SID at Mansfield University when I was a student-athlete, allowed me to start working in the SID office when I was a senior and was super supportive in helping me get my first internship after college. He has always been a guy who I think of first when I am seeking career advice or when I want to share good news. From John Paquette, who was my supervisor at the Big East Conference, I learned so much from John in my 10 months as an intern and continue to seek his counsel from time to time. He has pushed me for positions and helped me to climb the ladder during my career.

Last but not least is Sue Edson from Syracuse. I met Sue while interning at the Big East. As a woman, there is no better role model in this business than Sue. I have called Sue on more than one occasion in my career to ask advice or tap into her resources to see if great candidates for positions. She always picks up the phone when I call and is willing to share her experiences and advice.

 

You have worked six NCAA Women's Final Fours and the 2015 Big Ten Football Championship game. What were those experiences like? Did you have any major takeaways from those events?
They were terrific experiences – first, thankful for being part of such amazing events. From a networking perspective, it gave me the opportunities to meet and get to know some national media members and some individuals who do not normally cover Penn State. When it comes to the Women's Final Four, I met so many great people with whom I have stayed in contact and developed many friendships. I'm fortunate because now I have colleagues who I can bounce ideas off of or lean on for their perspectives. The Big Ten Championship Game was a great experience and was a tremendous help to me in seeing exactly how the event operated, so when we made Championship Game in 2016, I was ready to hit the ground running with very few questions operationally.