Your Story, Your Spotlight: Owning Your Brand Beyond the Game

Maryland Made’s efforts to prepare student-athletes for all aspects of life as an athlete continued with its “Your Story, Your Spotlight: Crafting Your Brand & Acing the Interview” workshop. The interactive professional-development session was designed to help student-athletes take ownership of how they are perceived — both on and off the field.

“I now can share that I am more than just my sport, and also have in mind the sentence I want for future employers to have stained in their mind after interviewing me.” track and field’s Ogechi Uzoukwu said. 

With the help of the workshop, Uzoukwu and others were able to think critically about their personal brand — the consistent impression they leave through their actions, work ethic, communication style, and leadership. The student-athletes explored how everyday behaviors shape their reputation and how to intentionally align that reputation with their long-term career goals.

Through guided reflection and mock interview practice, student-athletes developed confidence in telling their story in a way that highlights leadership, resilience, teamwork, and impact beyond sport.

“I have my InTERPship Academy interview next week so this session was very helpful for knowing what I should expect,” gymnast Rayna Engelmayer said.

During the seminar, student-athletes honed their skills by learning to define their personal brand in clear, professional language, translate athletic experiences into transferable career skills, craft a strong personal brand statement, use the STAR+YOU method to structure interview responses, and connect their experiences to what it says about who they are as professionals.

“I am more than just an athlete,” women’s soccer’s Gemma Davitian said. ”Being someone who competes at a high level brings a lot more to the table and who I am as a person.” 

The session emphasized a key message: whether intentional or not, people are forming opinions — and student-athletes have the power to shape and control that narrative.

“There is much more to me than being an athlete.” women’s basketball’s Kyndal Walker said after the workshop.

Through the “Your Story, Your Spotlight: Crafting Your Brand & Acing the Interview” workshop, the Terps increased confidence in interviewing, stronger articulation of transferable skills, and greater clarity in professional identity. Now, they’ll have full control over their personal brands, making themselves more marketable to employers and the media.

“It is important to ‘own it’,” women’s soccer’s Emily Lenhard said. “I think of it as being confident in who I am and what I bring, along with being able to share that with others.”

Maryland Made will continue to provide Terp student-athletes with career-readiness tools to prepare them for whatever life throws their way — academically, athletically, and professionally.