Our final guest of Season 4 is Steve Taylor, Director of Internships for the Department of Sport & Entertainment at the University of South Carolina, who talks to us about the joy of nurturing students and watching them develop a passion for working in events.
Steve was running a very successful flooring business and enjoying life. He had no intention of changing direction when he was involved in a serious car accident and was unable to work for a few months. This resulted in him losing his business.
So he decided to go back to school and study sports management, where he quickly learned that every aspect of it revolves around producing an event. As a mature student surrounded by younger people, he found that he had a flair for mentorship, which in time led him to be invited to work for the University, helping to remodel their internship programme. He accepted on the premise that he’d do so only until he found a job he liked better. That was 13 years ago.
His role now sees him taking students all over the world to work at a wide variety of sporting and entertainment events, including the London Olympics in 2012. Believing that humility and a sense of urgency are vital in the world of events, he urges anyone wanting to succeed to take on any challenge and just go and do it! We couldn’t agree more!
