A Match at THE Match: Kicking Off Summer at the World Cup

This summer, St. John Fisher University rising senior Kelsea Socha and Dr. Katie Burakowski, interim assistant dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, got a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put on an international sporting event working at the FIFA World Cup Tournament at Met Life Stadium.

While both have ties to Fisher, it was pure chance that Socha, a marketing major, and Burakowski worked side-by-side in hospitality at the FIFA World Cup NYNJ Stadium, even attending the World Cup Finals. The two connected through their positions in the FIFA Affiliates Hospitality Village and the FIFA Hospitality Pavilion, with Burakowski working as hospitality supervisor and Socha as a VIP hospitality associate. 

“It was crazy to travel to New Jersey and work a couple matches to then learn that Kelsea was working in the adjacent hospitality village,” said Burakowski. 

For several matches, Burakowski served as Socha’s supervisor, allowing time for the two to get to know each other and discover unexpected connections, including Socha’s uncle who previously served as a guest speaker in Burakowski’s class. 

As a VIP hospitality associate in the Pavilion Village, Socha was responsible for greeting fans, scanning tickets, handing out wrist bands, giving away match-specific gifts, and generally ensuring that fans were having a great time. 

“This experience exemplified what I learned in Professor Katie McJury’s Sports Through Film course: regardless of their background, sports have a unique ability to bring people together. Witnessing that sense of unity firsthand made it nearly impossible to choose just one memorable interaction,” said Socha. “From watching fans of opposing teams dance together (even during the Knicks celebration), to recognizing guests who attended every match, to realizing we gave a gift to the Serena Williams, every day brought unforgettable moments. It was the collective experience of seeing sports connect people from around the world that left the greatest impression on me.”

Having a background in hospitality, this opportunity sharpened Socha’s passion for the industry, taught her to be agile and accountable, and reaffirmed the importance of communication. 

“As simple as communication may seem, its importance can easily be overlooked. By prioritizing communication, I built strong relationships with my supervisors and even the head of security, which gave me the opportunity to contribute ideas as we developed new procedures,” said Socha. “My favorite part of every match was being able to connect with guests and help them any way I could to have the best experience possible. Working in such a special environment has inspired me to explore deeper into hospitality and event management after Fisher.”

Working as hospitality supervisor, Burakowski supervised staff who created a welcoming environment for guests and troubleshooting any problems or issues that arose with guests and staff. Burakowski shared how the experience provided her value as an educator, giving her an inside view into what it takes to run a global, hallmark event.

“It’s a master class in strategic management, event operations, communications, and human resources. I have a laundry list of tangible examples from the sport industry that I can use in the courses I teach to help students connect theory to practice. Additionally, I expanded my network and connection points in industry, which I hope to leverage to help students get internships and full-time work in sport,” she said. 

For students seeking experiential learning opportunities, Burakowski encourages them to get as much experience as possible by volunteering and interning. She stressed that getting involved with a variety of events and organizations will help students to narrow down where they want to focus their career and that there are support systems within their majors and within Career Services to find opportunities. 

“Fisher sport management graduates are desirable internship and job candidates because of the experiences they seek out before graduation. From volunteering opportunities within the Fisher Athletics Department to summer-long internships and mega events like the FIFA World Cup, our students benefit from experiencing the industry directly and building their technical competencies and growing soft skills. Experiential learning gives them opportunities to use what they’ve learned in courses and apply it to situations in the industry, which in turn makes them desirable to employers,” she said.