Post-Graduation Feature on Ithaca College Alum Jon Sokoloff

Key Points

• Sokoloff has found himself a home in Lubbock, Texas

• An Ithaca alum covered the NFL Draft last night

Collegiate senior across the country grow more nervous by the day. Graduation is approaching rapidly and the safety net of the college atmosphere is about to dissipate. Last night, thirty-two collegiate upperclassmen where informed, first over the phone, then by the commissioner of the National Football League in front of millions of people, who they were hired by.

There are many parallels you can make between the stresses of an average graduating senior during the weeks leading up to graduation and one of the twenty-two collegiate prospects waiting in the "green room" every year at the NFL Draft.

Last night, the 2018 NFL Draft was held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the home of the Cowboys. With tension building towards the first overall pick, the Cleveland Browns pulled off one of the most shocking upset picks in NFL history by drafting former Texas Tech and Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield over the likes of Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, and Josh Allen.

Lubbock Is Home As someone who's followed the NFL Draft for years, former Ithaca College television and radio major Jon Sokoloff shocked himself and others by setting up an elaborate feature project by himself to cover the NFL Draft in Dallas, Texas.

An attentive, lanky, goofy sports broadcaster accepted an incredible opportunity last January to cover Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

"I never expected to find myself in Texas, to be honest," said Sokoloff. "I was offered this incredible opportunity to learn and grow in an emerging market with great sports tradition. I'm extremely fortunate."

Last December, the Philadelphia native joined the job market as an up-and-coming sports television and radio broadcaster. Luckily, unlike most recent graduates, Sokoloff pounced on an opportunity to move halfway across the country to cover Texas Tech, an emerging market.

"When I first looking into the job, I didn't know anything about Texas Tech," said Sokoloff. "But when they told me I could do weekend broadcasts every weekend and host my own radio show, I was instantly intrigued."

It's not often you see an entry level collegiate applicant, especially in the television and radio sector, attain something so promising directly out of college. After last night's coverage, I can assure you, you'll be seeing Jon Sokoloff on your television sooner than later.

The NFL Draft

One of the longest and most grueling processes in sports culminated last night with the first round of the NFL Draft. Hosted in Dallas, Sokoloff had an ingenious plan. He wanted to make the four hour drive from Lubbock to Dallas.

"I'm lucky enough to have really flexible producers and some great people around me here at Fox 34," said Sokoloff. "So when I first came up with about the idea, I didn't hesitate to pitch the story. The story pitched itself. I told them I'm giving the station four days of free content, instead of having them purchase courtesy footage from some national outlet, so they were down almost immediately"

At Ithaca, Sokoloff did everything. He did color and play-by-by for WICB covering football, basketball, and almost every other sport in-between. He produced an in-depth podcast outside of school almost every week. He was an important staple on "Bombers Live" and "Sports Final," two incredibly successful ICTV series.

"The experience I gained at Ithaca working for ICTV and WICB helped me tremendously," said Sokoloff. "I was lucky enough to have some great professors and some incredibly hard-working coworkers both on set and in the booth."

As graduation approaches for Ithaca College seniors, the race towards the job market begins to heat up. Applications are being sent in. Interviews are being scheduled. In long run, if you're nervous about the next few months of uncertainty, look to Sokoloff as the premier explain of post-graduate life.

"I'd say the internships I was able to get helped me out tremendously," said Sokoloff. "If I was to give out any advice, I'd say follow what you love and take risks. Moving out here to Lubbock was a huge hurdle for me, but I'm doing what I love to do out here and I couldn't be more excited about the future."

#Sports #Football #NFLDraft #Journaism