Jordan Trgovac ‘16 has a love for her dog, Zuri, and “The Golden Girls” almost as deep as her love for sports. A communication major with a hospitality and tourism management minor from Wisconsin and North Carolina, Jordan graduated from the College of Charleston (CofC) in 2016 and is now working on her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University. She reflects fondly on her time at CofC, especially the picturesque ending with our unique spring graduation ceremony experience. Shortly after college, Jordan set out on her own to follow in her father’s footsteps and find a job in the world of sports.
Her love for sports and communication runs deep in her blood. Jordan recalled that she got her start in the communication field even before her college days. She told us, “I started working for the Green Bay Packers [football team] as a press box assistant on game days in high school to make extra money. I grew up with my dad, Mike Trgovac, the defensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers at the time. But my weekend job working in the press box made me fall in love with the communications side of sports.” This early job was such a great experience that by the time she was searching for the right college to attend, she knew exactly what field she wanted to go into post-college.
Jordan initially signed with CofC as a student-athlete for the women’s softball team. After suffering an injury junior year, she turned her focus even more intently to her communication dreams. She noted that her favorite class at CofC was her senior year capstone with #cofccomm faculty member Dr. Robert Westerfelhaus: “My capstone was Media and Communication [which] studied movies and their true meanings. We dove deeper into kid movies that had hidden communication meanings. I really learned a lot in this class.” When she was not in class, Jordan was working in an unpaid internship in the Charleston area. She recalled her first post-graduation internship, also unpaid, as a training camp intern for the Kansas City Chiefs [football team]. Afterwards, she secured a paid internship with USA Football in Indianapolis and then went on to intern with the American Junior Golf Association in Atlanta before landing a season-long internship back with the Chiefs in 2017.
In 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs (today’s reigning NFL Super Bowl champions) hired Jordan full-time as a Communications Assistant. On any given day you can find Jordan beginning work at 5:00 AM to review media alerts, read articles, and discuss other pressing national news with the entire Chiefs team (players, coaches, and staff) to ensure “everyone is on the same page”. Jordan’s role with the communications team specifically oversees the television, online, and print media for the Chiefs. During a normal work day, Jordan’s tasks could include any or all of the following: assisting the media while they view short periods of practice, assisting during press conferences and ‘open locker room’ when the media interview the players and coaches, and transcribing interviews to be sent to the Chiefs’ media distribution list and staff. Jordan is also constantly gathering information from multiple news sources to relay to the athletes and coaches so no one is blindsided during an interview. This information gathering helps the players focus primarily on playing football, instead of needing to find time to scan the web themselves.
From an early age, Jordan was fascinated with the behind–the–scenes work of the sports world, observed firsthand with the Green Bay Packers. Today, she says her favorite behind–the–scenes moments are watching the players take part in their Tuesday community outreach events. Jordan stated, “A lot of the players are involved in the local community, which is where they get to volunteer with things they are interested in. Some of the guys visit schools and hospitals while others build tiny houses for veterans to live in for free.” She loves seeing the players outside the football stadium, giving back to the community that loves them so much.
Jordan thanks CofC for preparing her for everything that has come her way in life. Her piece of advice for the Class of 2020 is, simply, “listen to people”. She urged that, in order to succeed, people must first learn to listen with the intention of wanting to hear what the other person is saying. Do not listen with the intent to just figure out what to say next. Jordan said, “Every day, I listen to the random conversations our players and coaches have with me and with each other. It helps me get to know them and learn how to better communicate with them, just by listening. It also helps me set them up with interviews I know they’ll enjoy rather than dread, and get them connected with charity projects that will actually mean something to them rather than just being a photo op.” Jordan strongly believes she is able to successfully accomplish her work because she makes the following three practices a priority:
1) she patiently gives time for others to finish their thoughts,
2) she maintains solid eye contact to show her attention and engagement in the conversation, and
3) she focuses on listening to what people have to say in the moment, first, and then talking, second.
Jordan foresees her future staying with the sports media field, whether it be to continue working with a sports team or perhaps eventually a sports-related brand. She aspires to continue rising up the chain through sports communication job positions. We wish you the best of luck, Jordan, and are so proud of all you have accomplished!