Rowan University welcomed back one of its own on March 30, Mohammed Hassanin, Assistant Marketing Director at Temple University Athletics. As a 2022 graduate, Hassanin was one of the first students to be part of the sports communication and media program.

Opening the conversation, Hassanin told students that attending Rowan was one of the best decisions he ever made. When applying to colleges, he made sure to apply to many institutions in New Jersey that offered a journalism degree, chasing the career he had dreamed of. Despite all of the options, Hassanin credits former athletic director John Gianini with helping him make the decision to attend Rowan.

“I enjoyed every moment that I was here, learning what I was learning, and I think no one can ever take that away from me,” Hassanin said. “I think in college, it’s really hard to find something you like, and we’re all sitting here because we all like sports.”

Hassanin went on to explain that even though you may not know what career you want to pursue within sports, it’s a good head start to get an idea of what field you want to work in in the first place. In his own experience, he originally pictured a career as a sports broadcaster, and noted that it didn’t pan out that way. However, Hassanin noted that he was grateful for where his career has gotten him because he was able to learn different entities. 

In his game presentation role, Hassanin tells students that the most important thing about his job is selling the game. For him, he wants to make sure that people want to come for the game and the entertainment that goes along with it, rather than the food, merchandise, and other attributes. For the many students in attendance who are interested in pursuing the same line of work as Hassanin, he wanted to offer them advice on how to get started and build upon their experiences.

“Just email people and tell them you’re interested in working game day and see what you get to do,” Hassanin said. “My script at Princeton is a lot different than my script at Temple, but it’s the same concept.”

During games, Hassanin said some things can go wrong, like the scoreboard going out or the music not working. When it comes to game presentation, these are both crucial parts of how the script goes, because sometimes, it leaves fans confused and unaware of what is going on. Another thing he told students was knowing when it was appropriate and not appropriate to play music during a game, specifically when a player is injured.

Outside of making sure everything goes smoothly on the technical side, Hassanin and his team also have to deal with their sponsors and ensure that they are getting what they were promised and what they paid for. 

“We have a partnership with PA Lottery, and a few games a year, they do a free throw contest,” Hassanin said. “So, we have to put it in the script and put in a place that makes sense, and make sure that gets executed properly, because if we don’t, we’re in trouble.”

Before ending his conversation, Hassanin wanted to make sure that the student knew it was okay to take losses, and that they can often lead to greater things. He explained that sometimes you have to take jobs you don’t want to gain experience and get your name out there.

“The more you’re willing to accept that you’re going to do things, you’re gonna look back and be like, ‘I can’t believe I did that’,” Hassanin said. “I built some character, and I was able to grind; that’s just part of the business, unfortunately.”