SUNY Brockport graduate lands dream job with Buffalo Bills
Lydia Aroune uses her Sport Management degree and the Brockport alumni network to reach her goal
Lydia Aroune remembers sitting in one of her SUNY Sport Management classes last spring listening to an alum share tales of his experience working for the Buffalo Bills.
“I was captivated,” Aroune says.
When Gregg Pastore, the senior director of digital media strategy for the Bills, finished his presentation, Aroune was sure to thank him and asked for his business card. She followed up. The two exchanged emails as Aroune finished up her graduation requirements – including an internship with the Triple A Buffalo Bisons. Ultimately, Pastore connected her with a colleague who had an opening.
Today, Aroune sits in the downtown headquarters of Pegula Sports and Entertainment (the parent company of the Buffalo Bills) as a Business Development Partnership Assistant.
“It’s truly awesome. It’s a pinch me moment, like I’m dreaming,” she said. “I’m loving every second of it.”
Aroune is responsible for stewarding the relationship between the team’s sponsors and the Bills organization. She ensures the team’s sponsors remain actively engaged with the team and feel the organization’s appreciation.
It’s a role she doesn’t feel she’d have been prepared for without her Brockport education.
“The classes I took were absolutely amazing,” said Aroune, a sport management major. “They taught me all that goes into marketing in the sports world. They also taught me the people skills you need to succeed. Brockport was a huge part of this big puzzle for me that I’m completing. I don’t believe I would be here without the help of my professors.”
Aroune now describes watching the Bills win as “exhilarating.” She fondly recalls the morning after the team’s season-opening win against the defending Super Bowl champion L.A. Rams.
“Everyone came in with a little extra pep in our step and we were all wearing our Bills gear. Everyone has such high hopes for this year and we’re so excited,” Aroune says. “This is what I’ve always wanted to be doing. I’m living my dream.”
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