top of page
IMG_5575.JPG.jpg
headshot%2520high%2520and%2520straight_e

Matt Edwards

Graduation with Leadership Distinction in Professional & Civic Engagement ePortfolio

  • White LinkedIn Icon
  • White Twitter Icon
About

About Me

My name is Matt Edwards and I am a public relations major and sport & entertainment management minor at the University of South Carolina. Originally from a small town in southern New Jersey, I fell in love with sports at a young age after attending the Little League World Series every summer with my family, playing on several different sports teams from my kindergarten tee-ball team to my lacrosse team my senior year of high school, and jumping at any chance I could to travel up to Boston to see my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox, play at Fenway Park or to Philadelphia to see them take on the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park much closer to my home. I grew up an avid fan of sports statistics, sports writing, sports broadcasting, sporting venues, and athletes such as Red Sox legend David Ortiz. For those reasons, I always knew I wanted to have a career within the sports industry in some capacity.

As I reflect on the decisions I have made during my time at the University of South Carolina, I can confidently say immediately joining The Daily Gamecock a few weeks after I arrived on campus for my freshman year was one of the best I have made. Covering Division I and club athletics at venues throughout our campus and Columbia for our student newspaper has not only introduced me to many people and provided opportunities the traditional classroom setting may not, but also allowed me to combine my passions for research, writing and sports information. Like my writing-intensive coursework, writing articles for The Daily Gamecock has strengthened my knowledge and application of AP Style to my writing and helped me develop the necessary skills to become a better researcher, interviewer, writer and copy editor.

Just as I have always enjoyed playing and watching sports, I have always enjoyed being part of a team. I love working with other people and try to take advantage of all situations that allow me to collaborate with other people to work toward a common goal. During the summer between my sophomore and junior years, I was part of a wonderful group of staff members at Camp SAY in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Here, I felt a sense of unity right away as we all came together to offer unforgettable memories and unconditional support for young people who stutter and their friends at our two-week summer camp. Within the full Camp SAY staff, I worked closely with my colleagues as a member of the office and support staff, which allowed me ample opportunity to get to personally know each of them well even though we were together for just three weeks that quickly flew by. While I reflect on my time at Camp SAY, I always think of our office staff as a team because we meshed well together and did our absolute best to help others throughout our camp and successfully accomplish whatever was asked of us.

Prior to working in the office at Camp SAY, I worked as a sales associate at Colmar True Value Home Center from my summer entering high school in 2013 to the end of the summer leading up to my junior year at South Carolina in 2019. During my time there, I assumed many responsibilities to perform various tasks both independently and with my many coworkers over the years. Providing customer service always remained my top priority and I did my best to mirror my dependable coworkers in listening to all customers and treating everybody who entered our store with respect. Specifically in my role, I stocked and organized merchandise, assembled and delivered barbecue grills for customers, updated computer documents regarding the store's inventory, and facilitated lumber, concrete, and propane orders. Furthermore, I was often entrusted to mentor new and younger employees, operate key and lumber-cutting machines, and serve as cashier. Above all, I always demonstrated a positive attitude, unwavering work ethic and attention to detail while maintaining the store's appearance and reputation as part of a welcoming and helpful staff in a friendly South Jersey community. 

As I work closer toward graduating and hopefully walking across the stage in my cap and gown in May 2021 (barring any more ongoing consequences caused by the pandemic), I am pursuing Graduation with Leadership Distinction in Professional & Civic Engagement. For that reason, I have created this portfolio to reflect on the many eye-opening lessons I have realized through my classes, extracurricular organizations, and work experiences during my four years as a student here at Carolina. Particularly, I have written three essays of distinct insights I have learned that have served me well as an undergraduate student and helped shape who I am as I pursue a career in sports media and/or college athletics upon graduation.

I never took a class I did not like or had a professor I did not respect at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication here at the University of South Carolina.

For my final project in my Reporting & Writing course, I wrote a story about the sports information directors for the Gamecocks women's basketball, football and baseball teams working during the COVID-19 pandemic even after collegiate sports had been cancelled for the remainder of the academic year. The Assistant Athletic Director of Communications and Public Relations posted my article on the Gamecocks athletics website after I sent him the finished product. (Click for link to article)

While covering the 2019 Palmetto Series between the South Carolina and Clemson baseball teams, I took this picture from the press box at Founders Park during the postgame handshake.

This photo is from the postgame press conference after the Gamecocks' 14-3 home win over the Clemson Tigers in the third and deciding game of the 2019 Palmetto Series. The three players pictured (L to R: TJ Hopkins, Reid Morgan and Luke Berryhill) each played prominent roles in the win and were ultimately selected in the 2019 MLB Draft.

I wrote many articles for The Daily Gamecock, but this one about former Gamecock baseball player Justin Row joining the coaching staff after his senior season made our newspaper's front page. (Click for link to article)

I took this photo while volunteering for Cocky's Reading Express, our university's literacy outreach program that visits elementary schools throughout South Carolina.

IMG_3657.JPG

While working at Colmar True Value during the summers from 2013 to 2019, I prided myself on being a dependable worker and helping customers however I could.

About Me
Key Insight 1
bottom of page