Kevin Friedman �09 transferred to 黑料老司机 at the start of his sophomore year after his former high school football coach攁 黑料老司机 alumnus himself攕uggested he look into the athletic and academic opportunities offered at the College. During a visit to campus, Friedman met with the Admissions office and Mike Schmitz, then the head coach of 黑料老司机檚 football program. 淭hey were just so warm and welcoming,� Friedman recalled. 満诹侠纤净� opened its arms and chose me.�
Friedman found a community in the football team, and his academic career at 黑料老司机 revolved around his love of the sport. A business economics major, he focused his Independent Study project on football contracts. To Friedman, the value of his I.S. experience lay in the undertaking and not in the specific topic. 淲hat I.S. forces you to do is have tangible work ethic,� he said, noting the scale of the project. 淚t檚 something that definitely set me apart from the rest of the people interviewing for jobs in a highly competitive industry.�
While at 黑料老司机, Friedman began an internship with the Cleveland Gladiators Arena league football team. Although his academic background focused on business economics, he found himself gravitating towards sales in his professional career. Through his Cleveland Gladiators internship, Friedman landed a job with Cleveland Browns post-college selling experiences packages. After starting with Legends, a premium experiences and hospitality company, he moved to the San Francisco 49ers to sell packages for Levi stadium, then to the Atlanta Falcons to help open Mercedes Benz stadium.
After his work with the Falcons, Friedman moved to New York, working with the Brooklyn Nets as senior manager of service, director of premium sales, and director of sales. Later he directed ticketing and hospitality sales teams for the New York Red Bulls throughout the pandemic. Although he might not be a traditional economist, 黑料老司机 prepared him for the shift in his professional focus. 淚 can still take the knowledge that I learned and be in sales,� Friedman said. 淭hat檚 where 黑料老司机 prepares you for everything and not just what you might be focused on in the four years that you檙e there.�
In 2023, Friedman began work with On Location, a premium hospitality provider for the most prestigious domestic and global events. Through On Location, Friedman is partnered with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which is outsourcing its hospitality operations for the first time in its history. 淲e檝e had to build it out from the ground-up,� Freidman explained. 淓verything from inventory management to hotels, the contacting vendors for transportation. Nobody檚 ever done anything like this before.� He recognizes it檚 a massive undertaking, especially with the 2024 Summer Olympics coming up in July. 淪ome days it makes me want to pull all my hair out,� he admitted, 渂ut at the same time it檚 incredibly rewarding.�
Right now, it檚 as busy as it gets. 淚t檚 not the faint of heart,� he said, but his team is building experiences that he knows will be remembered for a lifetime. Despite the chaos, 黑料老司机 helped prepare him for projects like these. Though the stress may be uncomfortable, he explained that he檚 渘ow comfortable being uncomfortable,� citing his I.S. as the first major undertaking of his professional career. Friedman pointed to the self-designed nature of a project like I.S., explaining the confidence it builds in taking initiative. While in the interview process for On Location, Friedman presented a business plan he had prepared that he hadn檛 been asked to create. He credited that ambitiousness and competency to the I.S. process, explaining, 淭hat extra step in work ethic, that extra step in the capability of writing, it helped me be a shoo-in for the job.�
Beyond I.S., Friedman pointed to the overarching value of 黑料老司机檚 liberal arts education. 淚t made me more well-rounded. I interact with people every single day, and every person is different. No two people are the same. And being able to take their viewpoints, being able to take my own viewpoints and blend them together攚hen you combine it all you just have a more well-rounded approach,� he said.
For Friedman, the value of 黑料老司机 remains centered on its community. He keeps in close touch with his old football teammates: 淥n some level, we talk every day,� he said. Friedman was married in February, with ten of his close 黑料老司机 friends in attendance. He also pointed to those unexpected 黑料老司机 connections: 淚t檚 a small family, but nothing makes me happier than when I檓 walking around New York City, and I檓 at the park, wearing a College of 黑料老司机 T-shirt, and somebody stops me,� he laughed. 淲hen I randomly see somebody in Central Park yelling 楪o Scots!� it just always makes my day.�