His office is a soccer stadium, and he couldn’t be happier. With his Sports/Entertainment/Event Management degree from JWU, Ryan made the team fans rarely see: the one that promotes your favorite pro sports events.
Ryan Lester ‘05 Advertising/promotions manager US Soccer Federation
“It’s a great feeling to look into the stadium and see 80,000 people, knowing you had a hand in bringing them to the event," says Ryan.
Marketing, advertising and promoting for the US men’s and women’s national teams? It's a dream job for Ryan, a true sports fan.
“I get to construct media campaigns that will hopefully encourage patrons to buy tickets,” he says, “to figure out what will work and what won’t.”
PGA, Pro Sports InternshipsGetting there wasn’t easy. The competition for elite advertising careers can be extreme. But Ryan set himself apart with two internships.
He worked at the PGA golf tournament Deutsche Bank Championship as an undergraduate student.
But it was his Philadelphia Wings internship that changed his life. Ryan worked on the NLL lacrosse team team’s PR campaigns, and found in-game entertainment ideas.
Internship Leads to JobHe did so well, he was hired on full-time with the Philadelphia Wings/Comcast-Spectacor.
As marketing coordinator, he developed complex marketing and public relations campaigns for family related shows, concerts and sports events.
He took those skills to Global Spectrum, as marketing manager for Spartan Stadium, coordinating events for the San Jose State varsity football team — and Team USA soccer. The rest is history.