Castelli Prepared for Life After Sports

Women's Tennis senior Cecilia Castelli has continued to display excellence on and off the court. 98% of college student-athletes will go professional in something other than sports. During her years at Temple, Castelli has taken advantage of every opportunity to prepare herself for the next phase of life.

Castelli has been a multiyear member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Temple, where she has continued to play an active role in the student-athletes community service efforts and athlete well-being. During the 2019-2020 school year, she is serving on the SAAC Executive Board. Even with the hard work she puts into the Temple Athletics community, her greatest achievement may be displayed outside of Temple.

Two years ago, Castelli had the opportunity to spend time at the Under Armour Career Combine. It was here that a passion for a career with Under Armour began. "I love Baltimore and I loved the people at UA" added Castelli.

Being an Italian native, the brand of Under Armour was relatively unknown to Castelli, as the brand has a minimal footprint in Europe compared to brands such as Nike and Adidas. However, Castelli said, "I have come to love Under Armour, and I would love to see the brand spread in Europe."

Castelli is an International Business and Marketing double major with a minor in Sports Business. With this academic background, taking internship opportunities at Under Armour was a perfect fit.

"I wanted to see how UA functioned in a different part of the world," explained Castelli. She began to reach out to representatives from UA Japan where she learned that they would be in the United States meeting with Under Armour brand schools. Castelli immediately reached out to Faculty Athletic Representative Jeremy Jordan and said, "When they come, I need to meet with them" and she did.

Ultimately, Castelli was offered an internship with UA Japan for the summer of 2019. Her time in Japan was unforgettable. She praised the people of Japan for her experience. "The Japanese people are amazing, and the culture loves American college athletics" added Castelli. She believes that her time was valuable for the company as well, "They wanted to see how an athlete and college student could help improve the company to be more active in this space," said Castelli.

Castelli also mentioned that she was very happy with the work opportunities she was given. UA offered her real learning opportunities every day at work.
Since her initial meetings with UA, the company has begun expanding in Europe. Castelli sees this as a possible career avenue following her graduation in the spring.

Figuring out what comes next will be a process that Castelli takes very seriously. "I want to make sure I take the time to make the right decision for myself" added Castelli. She highlighted three great options. The first being a continuation of her study through an MBA. The second is the possibility of returning to Europe to work for UA. Finally, she is considering working in the US for someone other than UA in order to gain experience prior to graduate school.

No matter where her professional ventures take her, it is clear that the work Castelli has put in during her four years at Temple will pay large dividends during all stages of her career.

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Castelli Prepared for Life After Sports

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