Related Content
•
CoSIDA.com/CoSIDA360 Archive
This story is part of our October 2021 CoSIDA 360 package, to view more stories,
click here.
Young Professionals Spotlight: Joel Russ - Succeeding in the Face of Uncertainty and Adversity
by Barbara Barnes – Georgetown University, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
From Liberia to Maryland, from Division III to Division I and back again, NCAA sports and the casino floor,
Joel Nathan Russ’ path to Notre Dame of Maryland University has had its share of twists and turns. But those that know him well say the quiet, unassuming voice is a powerhouse in his own right.
Joel (pronounced Joe-elle, don’t get it wrong!) and his family came to the United States in 2006 as refugees escaping civil war in Liberia when he was nine years old. They eventually settled in Laurel, Maryland where he played soccer, basketball and football.
His love of college football and the NBA drove him to attend Frostburg State where he graduated with a degree in journalism and public relations in 2018. During his studies, sports were always the driving factor as he sought out experience as a writer, graphic designer and even within the SID office at Frostburg State. It was clear that sports were his passion.
After a number of internships, Joel realized a master’s degree would help his get his foot in the door and where better to do it than locally at Georgetown University. It was here that I met Joel for the first time applying for one of our internships.
Joel was not showy, despite many years of experience, he came across as humble and willing to learn. But as soon as we began working with him, his creativity would shine through. It was the field hockey graphic coming across the feed or the unique tennis coverage that made us thankful that he decided Georgetown was the place for him.
A rising star within our department, everything changed in March, 2020 when the pandemic hit. All of a sudden there were no games to cover and we were having meetings on what to post on social or how to get recruits attention. It was constant uncertainty, especially for someone like Joel so early in his career.
It was those months where Joel gained confidence. Instead of learning StatCrew from us, we were talking to him about social media ideas that student-athletes might like. His recruiting blog experience and ample amount of time on Twitter made him the perfect person to bounce ideas off of.
But what was most impressive was his dedication. Starting off in life very differently than the rest of us had taught Joel how to handle adversity and uncertainty. Instead of slowly finishing up his internship, Joel signed on for another year knowing that we didn’t even know when sports would return.
In his second year, all remote, Joel’s skills and experience were exactly what we needed as we shifted everything to virtual. When we needed postgame highlights, he volunteered. When we needed someone to run the podcast, Joel’s was the first hand up. He immersed himself in work during one of the most challenging years in Athletics history.
During this time, still needing to make money, he drove for Uber and eventually got a job working at a local casino moonlighting as security at night and SID by day. A unique setup within college athletics to say the least.
This drive did not go unnoticed as Joel began applying for jobs and the offers started coming as he searched for the right fit. From Liberia to Frostburg to Georgetown to a casino, Joel came right back to where it had started and took a position at Division III’s Notre Dame of Maryland. With so many experiences, he looked for the place where he could leave his mark and make and impact.
I’m certain that Notre Dame won’t be his last stop, but following his path Joel has shown that it’s right where he needs to be, right now.
Talk about these stories on the
CoSIDA Slack Community.