PROFILE
“ This year has provided us an opportunity to really look under a microscope at how we serve our members , and what we are doing for them . The sky ’ s the limit now . We can make it become what we want .”
– Nick McKenna , CSFM
course management , McKenna – a self-described college sports junkie – saw a better fit for himself in sports field management .
“ From that point on , I really just put blinders on , dove right in , and my focus was tunnel vision on the sports field industry and creating a career for myself in this industry ,” said McKenna .
McKenna knew he needed experience , so he began to regularly reach out to Mike Andresen , CSFM , in the Iowa State athletics department regarding potential opportunities at Iowa State .
“ Unfortunately , Mike didn ’ t have any openings for my first year and a half ,” said McKenna . “ Then , the summer before my last semester at Iowa State ( with the two major changes it took me an extra semester to get done ), Mike called me and said he had an opening on the crew as one of his intern positions . So , I jumped at that chance . I got to do my last fall semester at Iowa State working under Mike Andresen , who is one of the greatest people in our industry . From there , I was going to do whatever I could to impress him , work hard , try to make a positive image for myself in his mind , and see where it would lead me .”
INSPIRED BY A SENSE OF COMMUNITY “ My path to Texas A & M from there is kind of weird ,” said McKenna .
While McKenna was at Iowa State , his brother was pursuing a Ph . D . at Texas A & M . So McKenna decided to travel to Texas A & M for Thanksgiving break to visit his brother and sister-in-law .
The first Thanksgiving McKenna visited Texas A & M was in the fall of 1999 . McKenna drove through the night , and arrived in College Station , Texas , around 6 a . m . on November 18 . He got some sleep from driving through the night , and later awoke to news of tragedy on campus .
Dating back to the early 1900s , Texas A & M had an annual fall tradition of building a bonfire as a symbol of
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16 SportsField Management | February 2021 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com