Following a tour of CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in which they saw both the football and business operations of the Browns, they ended the day with a panel moderated by News 5 Cleveland sports reporter Camryn Justice. Browns Chief Communications Officer Peter John-Baptiste kicked off the panel to welcome to the students to the Browns organization.
"One of my favorite things to do is to have young kids come into our building to understand and learn about all the opportunities that are here in professional sports," John-Baptiste said. "Many of you all see what's going on the field. You see players, you see coaches, but rarely do you really understand and think about all the other opportunities that might come that you might have if you can't make it to the field."
The panel included Browns staff members from different areas of the organization, including account executive Keishon Lanier, HSG fellow Shannon Lipscomb, legal coordinator Danika Austin and associate producer Noah Stitt.
Students also asked questions to the individuals on the panel and were able to gain insight about everyone's journey through high school and college, while voicing the importance of education and networking. In addition, students learned how each job functions within the organization and how important relationships are in the business of sport.
"I think it was a good experience for us to figure out what we want to do," Mike Banks, a senior at Maple Heights High School, said. "Most of us here, we're seniors, and are figuring out what we want to do going into life, with internships or whatever career path they want to take. So, having good advice from the past people that came before us was great."