As a second-year student in the USF Sport Management program, Tatyana Modawar ‘25 has always been around sports. Following a successful collegiate basketball career ending at UCSB, Tatyana was eager to learn more about the industry she had played in her entire life.
At the start of the USF Sport Management program, Tatyana was immersed in the basketball scene still, working with the Golden State Warriors youth basketball department, Warriors Basketball Academy. Though, when a new opportunity presented itself, she chose to follow her heart: this time to New York City with Major League Baseball. In 2023, Tatyana was selected as the Katharine Feeney Memorial Scholarship recipient. Katharine Feeney built her professional career, rising through the ranks of the MLB. A pioneer for women in sports, the Katharine Feeney Memorial Scholarship was founded to promote access and opportunity to women. As part of the scholarship award, Tatyana had the opportunity to move to New York this summer and complete an internship in the MLB Headquarters.
As one can imagine, working at the league office is a big opportunity. There, Tatyana was hired on as the Partnership Activation Intern. After taking the Sports Marketing course at USF, the position piqued her interest. Tatyana began working with MLB, specifically on international accounts like Nike, New Balance, and all international partners. When working on these accounts, she was able to work directly with the brands, which led to event recaps, planning for future MLB events, and connecting with many professionals in the industry. Tatyana’s experience was life changing both personally and professionally. In ten weeks, she learned many lessons, including the importance of relationship building and effective, active communication with your peers.
Concluding this experience, Tatyana realized that this is exactly what she could see herself doing in the future. Coming into the program, she was not exactly sure what she wanted to do professionally. She knew she had a passion for sports, she just needed a path. In many ways, the MLB was just that. Her internship in New York narrowed her focus on what she wants to do in the future and nurtured a passion for partnerships and creating experiences.
Being a woman in the sports industry is not easy. Yet, being a woman of color within this industry makes things just that much harder– having to push past being a minority comes with great perseverance to get to where one wants to go. Moving across the country and stepping out of your comfort zone is intimidating. However, Tatyana took this time and used it to her advantage. Working at the MLB league offices was empowering as she got to meet many successful women that were an inspiration. One interaction that stuck with her was the opportunity to meet and talk to Uzma Rawn, SVP of Global Partnerships at Major League Baseball. Rawn shared with Tatyana her journey and experience getting to the MLB and it was motivational to see a woman in her position. Her motivation and leadership skills were apparent throughout the office, not just through her presence but also with the amazing team she has built. The atmosphere within MLB’s Partnership team was like no other, a credit to the community and passion that Uzma and many other women have brought there. Seeing the things that these women had accomplished was extremely inspiring for Tatyana
Tatyana is another one of those amazing women, taking a brave step in her career and stepping into the unknown. She took a chance on herself and it is paying off tremendously. As Tatyana wraps up her final months in the USF Sport Management program, she looks ahead to staying in partnerships and trailblazing yet another path for women in sports.