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This feature is part of our series of profiles showcasing members throughout the CoSIDA membership during the celebration of CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week for 2020-21. See more features at CoSIDA.com/ThankYourSID.

Lynn Walsh – Bridgewater College, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations
by Mary Gasior – Eastern Michigan, Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Some people think the profession they ended up in was meant to be, and that’s how Lynn Walsh feels. Walsh is in her third year at Bridgewater College, where she is the primary contact for men’s and women’s cross country/track and field, volleyball, and softball.
 
Before entering the athletic communications realm, she was a four-year letterwinner in volleyball at Lynchburg University. Walsh was a two-year captain and ranks fourth all-time in program history with 1,929 assists. Professional development is a priority for Walsh, as she has attended CoSIDAS convention, the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar, the NCAA/Women Leaders in College Sports Women's Leadership Symposium and Women Leaders in College Sports Institute for Administrative Advancement.
 
Learn more about Walsh as she talks about her young career in this Q&A.
 
 
You’ve been at Bridgewater since 2018; what led you to a career in athletic communications?
LW: I majored in communication studies Lynchburg – an ODAC conference rival of Bridgewater - while also being a student worker in our athletic communications office. And I never was able to really tie the two together and say ‘wow I’m getting a degree in something that could actually benefit me while I’m also getting work experience doing this.’ I love sports; I’ve been around sports my entire life. I played volleyball at Lynchburg and I was also a former competitive jumper roper, so sports have always been important.
 
When I was going to apply for jobs, I thought about more standard communications positions in a corporation, or in a small business or a company, and I just couldn't see myself doing that. Finally, after thinking about it – a career path was sitting right in front of me! It was what I had been doing, and I couldn't even put it together at first! Being around sports and being around student-athletes and to use my degree that I really did enjoy … and through connections, I ended up here at Bridgewater, a conference rival. Ending up at a school in the same conference and still getting to be around things at Bridgewater. So long story short, it was all meant to be.
 
You mentioned you played volleyball. How has being a former student-athlete shaped how you look at your job today?
LW: There were things that my sports information director and our athletic media staff did for me at Lynchburg – a great resource. I had my coach and my professors, I had my friends, but after a long day of practice when I had to go down to the athletic training room, I would pass the SID office and would go in and talk to him. He knew he could ask me about my day and that was something that I wanted to be for student-athletes.
 
For the student-athletes, I want to have that open door approach. I want to be a person that they know they can come into the office (post-pandemic!), sit down and tell me about your day, laugh, and make jokes and have someone you can trust.
 
To do the work that we do and cover stories and really make them authentic, we have to know the student-athletes on a deeper level than just their stats, like, she's really good at volleyball and she scores a lot of goals and he can hit home runs all day. We have to know them as people and not just when it's convenient for us to know them.
 
 
What is the biggest career lesson that you've learned as an SID?
LW: You have to be able to adjust and adapt, and be flexible and learn how to work with different people with different personality types. The pressure aspect of all of that is one thing, but being able to do it when you've got 10 minutes left on the clock and nothing's working right at the table and you've got to get things done. It’s those layers of your work ethic and time management skills coming together with the pressures and deadlines of being an SID that are important to manage.
 
Also, in this communications job, you have to be comfortable with the work that you're doing and know that you're doing a good job at what you are even if you're not getting that speech recognition.
 
What would be the one professional development tip that you could share with young professionals going into athletic communications?
LW: Be open to everything and know that you’re going to know less than you think you do. You have to be willing to learn and be willing to help. I think this is a business where everyone’s always eager to help and yes, we’re competing on the court or the field, but we have to be in it together.
 
You’ve attended the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar and multiple women’s in sports seminars. Talk about those experience and how those networking and professional development opportunities have helped you in your career.
LW: When I first got hired at Bridgewater, my position was funded under the NCAA Ethnic Minorities and Women's Internship Grant. And with that comes professional development opportunities. In going to all these things, the biggest thing that I learned was that I love being in athletic communications. When you go to these sessions, it's a lot of student-athlete development, fundraising development, and academic services personnel. You don't see a lot of young SIDs taking advantage of those opportunities. And it’s also interesting to see how everything molds together, and it makes me thankful that I’m valued to be in that room.
 
And it's also interesting to see their aspects of things and how everything molds together. I have friends in student athlete development now, which, at a small D3, we don't have, and it makes me thankful to have these connections.
 
 
Who are your mentors?
LW: My two sports information mentors at Lynchburg were Joe Hutzler and Mark Robertson. They taught me that as a volleyball student-athlete, their door was open to chat and just talk about something not volleyball-related. Then, when I put my sports info worker hat on, our conversations were about how to give me the skills and abilities to go out in the real world.
 
I formed a great relationship with Bethany Dannelly. She was formerly at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and is now at Washington and Lee University as an Associate AD. She’s not an SID, but has been a great sounding board in understanding how females and athletic communications roles are not as visible in leadership. Young females are like unicorns in this industry and that needs to change. Bethany is pushing and helping and is aware of the challenge of being a female in college sports. Another mentor for me has been Amanda Radtke, North Florida assistant athletics communications director. 
 
What is one communication/PR tool you can’t live without?
LW: I think I have to say Twitter, which I don't know if I would have said that maybe even a year ago. But it's everything now besides from being a part of our jobs, it's how you meet people and how you network and how you've learned what other are doing on their Instagram and different strategies. It’s a one-stop shop. I’m sure an old school PR professional would just shiver at the thought of me saying Twitter, but it really is, you have everything you need there.
 
Q: What is an accomplishment/achievement you are most proud of (work or personal)?
LW: I think there's a couple things, but I’m going to go with the timely one. I don't think any of us realized how exhausting it would be to pull off what we're all pulling off now. At Bridgewater, we start sports soon and the fact that I feel comfortable and ready is because of this herculean efforts we all did with our backs up against the wall to get things going in the pandemic. That's what's on the forefront of my mind right now – how all of us have been able to pull this off.
 
What is a quote you live by?
LW: I have a few, but I’m going to go with if you live life, life will love you back and you have to put things into it. If you put effort into all you do, you’ll get more in return.