Southern Nazarene Graduate Assistant Eric Gutierrez not only helps coach the SNU baseball team, but he is enrolled in the Master’s in Sports Management program.
“SNU was the right school for me to pursue my master’s in sports management because I enjoyed my undergraduate experience here. Every faculty member that I encountered here truly cared about me as a person and not just as a number,” said Gutierrez. “The first thing that comes to mind when I think of SNU are the good people that I have encountered. Whether it be a professor, athletic director, or even just a regular student, everyone here is so nice and everyone here is a legitimate good person. Just being able to converse and talk to other like-minded individuals helped me find comfort in attending SNU. This is something that I had not experienced before which is why I believe my two years of undergraduate and now my graduate program has been so enjoyable for me.”
Gutierrez would like to eventually become a head coach at the collegiate level and this degree from SNU will help him as he pursues his dream.
“This degree will help me in multiple ways. The first way that this degree will help me in my profession is how to understand the psychological aspect of sport and athlete. This degree will also help me better understand how to come up with and stick to a budget,” said Gutierrez. “Lastly, this degree will help me build professional connections. One of the cool things about this degree is that we have the opportunity to meet with front office personnel from numerous professional organizations. This will help me grasp the idea of what is being asked of the individuals while also being able to see what goes on behind the scenes.”
There have been many reasons Gutierrez said he would recommend the course to others looking to advance their careers. One is the structure of the course.
“The biggest thing that surprised me about this program is how the classes were structured. The sports management classes have been 90 percent discussion-based, which I enjoy as you are can see how differently other individuals’ minds work on said topic. This was such a surprise to me as the undergraduate classes here are 90 percent lecture with just 10 percent discussion,” said Gutierrez. “I would tell other adults thinking about continuing their education here at SNU to just dive into it. Every professor, and advisor here truly cares about you. You will not be just another number as you would be at other institutions. Here at SNU everyone wants you to succeed, whether it be them answering late night emails or switching to a different degree, they will do whatever is necessary to make it work for you.”
Before entering SNU as a student, Gutierrez graduated from Westmoore High School in 2017.
