FTG 0042 – A League of Her Own with Women’s Sports Marketing Executive and Entrepreneur Caroline Fitzgerald ’12 Following the Gong, a Podcast of the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State

Overview:
Caroline Fitzgerald ’12 Bus, Lib is the CEO & Founder of GOALS - the first sports marketing & sponsorship agency that is fully dedicated to women's sports. Caroline joins Following the Gong to discuss her story and inspire both entrepreneurs and interest in women’s sports. She leveraged the opportunities of the Honors College to combine majors that fit her interests, earning a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the Smeal College of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Women and Gender Studies with Honors from the College of the Liberal Arts after participating in Club Basketball and serving on the THON Executive Committee as the 2011 Merch Director. Caroline walks us through her career from retail to non-profits to ultimately turning her side-hustle into her own business. Caroline’s full bio and a detailed list of topics are available below.
Guest Bio:
Caroline Fitzgerald ’12 Business, Liberal Arts is the CEO & Founder of GOALS - the first women's sports marketing & sponsorship agency that is fully dedicated to women's sports. GOALS works to grow women's sports by helping professional women’s sports teams & organizations gain more revenue through the formation of brand sponsorships. Before starting GOALS, Caroline worked for 10+ years as a marketing and sales professional across a variety of industries and was most recently the SVP of Partnerships at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon where she was responsible for selling and activating partnerships with brands that include DICK’S Sporting Goods, FedEx, Brooks Running, Dunkin’, PNC Bank, Barefoot, Panera, Nuun Hydration, Bank of America, and more. Caroline earned her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and her Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Women and Gender Studies from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, both in 2012. She also earned a Masters in Global Sport from the Tisch Institute for Global Sport at New York University. Caroline served as the Merchandise Director for THON 2011, Together Without Limits, and currently resides in her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.
 
Episode Topics:
 

Following siblings to Penn State and the Honors College as a current Penn State student
Integrating interests like sports and feminism  into your college, major, and career
Integrating dual majors through the thesis with the example of analyzing breast cancer awareness marketing
Being heavily involved on campus and still succeeding academically including serving as a THON Director (Merch) and how this translates to life after college
Continuing high school athletics at the D1 Club level as a student and Scholar
Making the most of on-campus recruitment opportunities and internships to begin your career
A pitstop discussing the Heinz History Center
Working in retail, and the differences between the store and the corporate offices and between retail and non-profit entities
Taking action to fill a space in the market, such as a for-profit, purpose driven sports marketing agency aimed at women’s sports
Taking a side hustle to a full-time job and balancing growth vs. market niches
Using a talent like sports to be an extra in film & TV
Celebrating success and learning from failures
Thoughts on mentorship

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