Ringing in the Olympics: Spears students gain work experience at Paris Olympics
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Media Contact: Terry Tush | Director, Marketing and Communications | 405-744-2703 | terry.tush@okstate.edu
Four thousand, seven hundred and seventy miles separate Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Paris. However, a pair of students from the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University will call the City of Light home this summer.
Kylie Austin, a double alumna of OSU, and Josh Malcom, a triple-major graduate, will be taking their skills to the French capital to work behind the scenes at the 2024 Summer Olympics, an honor that neither one could have foreseen.
“If you would’ve told me a year ago that I would be working full time for the U.S. Olympic Committee and have the opportunity to work at the Olympic Games in Paris, I wouldn’t have believed you at all,” Malcom said. “I still can’t believe it.”
Malcom’s Parisian journey
As a high school junior in Dripping Springs, Texas, Malcom wasn’t sure what college he wanted to attend or what he wanted to study. However, on a spring break trip to Stillwater, an opportunity presented itself that he felt compelled to take.
Born in Maryland, he moved to Austin when he was 5. A kid who was used to a big city environment grew enamored with the quieter, smaller atmosphere of Stillwater and OSU. He experienced firsthand the Spears School of Business’ motto, “Power of Personal.”
“It might sound cheesy, but it really was about the ‘Power of Personal,’” Malcom said. “I toured UT-Austin and Texas A&M and they just felt massive, and I felt like a number there. Then I took a visit to OSU and knew this was the right place.”
The choice to attend OSU was part of a much larger mantra that Malcom adopted during high school. As a timid and reserved teenager, he challenged himself to push outside of his comfort zone and pursue opportunities, large and small.
During his time at OSU, Malcom did just that as he served as president of several organizations, including the Sports Management Club and Spears Ambassadors. The latter of which, Malcom tabs as the most impactful, for himself and others.
The Spears Ambassadors are current students dedicated to engaging with prospective students and promoting all the opportunities available in Spears Business. The organization allowed Malcom to pay forward the amazing experience he had as a prospective student.
"You never know if you’re going to be that connection that sways a person to come to OSU,” Malcom said. “I remember the ambassador I met with when I visited and how influential she was in making my decision. I hope that I can be that person for someone else that visits OSU and Spears.”
Malcom also pursued internship opportunities that profoundly impacted his time as a student at OSU and beyond. He interned with a foster care nonprofit called Austin Angels, helped recruit volunteers for the National MS Society and delved into sports operations with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Texan graduated in May 2024 with a triple major in management, marketing and international business with concentrations in sports and nonprofit management. It was an opportunity that he identified and pursued as a means to fully experience his areas of interest and expand his employment possibilities after graduation.
“Even with the three degrees, I am unsure of what exactly my ultimate career goal looks like,” Malcom said. “However, I do know that I want to have a positive impact on others, whether it be large or small.”
Malcom continues his work with the USOPC as a full-time sport operations specialist, a job that would seem to be an ideal fit for his skills and knowledge. It opened the opportunity to work for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Malcom will be in Paris for approximately two weeks leading up to the games, helping members from clothing icon Nike outfit Team USA athletes for the opening and closing ceremonies. The role will provide Malcom a unique opportunity to gain experience in his newly started position and become engrossed in the behind-the-scenes happenings of sport’s largest stage.
“This is an amazing opportunity,” Malcom said. “Not only do I get to interact with some of the best athletes in their respective sports from the U.S., but I get hands-on experience that will be invaluable to my career with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It’s truly unbelievable.”
When asked if he would recognize the freshman version of himself, Malcom paused, cracked a small grin and simply said, “I don’t think I would.” However, he reflects with a perspective that many aspire to, that the past version of himself had to exist to serve as a foundation for his future self to build upon.
“The word growth is the perfect way to describe my time at OSU,” Malcom said. “I came in as a timid high school kid and pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone. There was an older version of myself that wouldn’t have been able to succeed in the roles that I’m in now, but all the opportunities I’ve taken and embraced have truly changed me for the positive in so many ways.”
Austin’s dream becomes reality
From an early age, Austin knew exactly what she wanted her career to focus on. What she didn’t know is how quickly that dream would become a reality.
The Denver native grew up around sports. She participated in numerous areas including gymnastics, cheer and lacrosse. She also grew up with three brothers and a sister, so any sport she didn’t participate in, she watched her siblings play.
“To say I grew up around sports would be an understatement,” Austin said. “If we weren’t participating in sports, we were watching sports, either in person at one of the many local team options in Denver, or on TV with my dad.”
Sports was always the end goal from the time she was 8. However, Austin credits a particular instance in high school that gave her the epiphany to pursue a career in sports broadcasting.
“I remember sitting on the couch with my dad watching an NFL game when I was around 14,” Austin said. “I don’t remember the game, but I remember watching Tracy Wolfson give a sideline report during the game and it just dawned on me at that moment that this was something I could do as a job. From that point on, that was always the goal.”
When it came time to choose a university to attend and chase that dream, there wasn’t much of a choice to be made. Not only does OSU boast one of the best sports journalism programs in the country, but both of her parents are OSU alumni, which gave Austin a level of comfort she couldn’t find anywhere else.
“I remember growing up around Stillwater and OSU,” Austin said. “Going to all the games and spending time in the community are fond childhood memories for me, so when it came time to pick a school, it wasn’t hard. I already knew that one choice was awesome.”
Austin completed her undergraduate degree in sports broadcasting in 2022. However, she wanted to have a fallback plan, given the ultra-competitive sports media industry. Unsurprisingly, sports once again provided a choice that was too good to be true for Austin.
She developed an interest in the surrounding details of media rights deals, such as which network gets to carry which games or which sports are generally decided with large contract deals between the respective sport and networks.
The business of sports would be Austin’s fallback plan, and she decided to pursue a Master of Business Administration, which would provide her with the business acumen needed.
“The sports broadcasting industry is tough,” Austin said. “Even if you reach the pinnacle of the industry and are the face on TV, that doesn’t last forever. So, that’s why I decided to secure a secondary path while I was still at OSU.”
As she neared the end of her MBA, Austin began applying for internships within the broadcasting industry as a starting place for her career. However, it was a failed internship in 2023 that led her down an unlikely path.
That summer, Austin had secured an internship with Bally Sports and was ready to start making her dream a reality. However, due to some unforeseen medical circumstances, she was ultimately unable to take the internship.
While seemingly deflated by an opportunity missed, the challenge gave her a new perspective and the determination to pursue other opportunities no matter how wild they might seem. So, with the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics nearly a year away, Austin applied to the Olympic Broadcasting Services because, “What’s the worst that could happen; they tell me no?” she said.
In July, Austin was denied the chance to work the games, as the employment opportunities would focus on those living in the area. However, by the end of October, she was contacted by someone with the Olympics archive team and told there were still spots available and they would love to have her, with one caveat: Austin would have to make it to Paris two weeks from the call to begin training.
“It was quite the rollercoaster of events,” Austin said. “From the disappointment of losing the Bally internship and being told I wouldn’t qualify for a spot with the Olympics, to being told that they did have a spot, but I had to drop everything and be in Paris in two weeks; it was a crazy whirlwind of events over the span of six months.”
Austin was able to arrange the travel and training time in Paris and was optimistic that she could secure a spot on the team. In December, she was given the official news that she would be a part of the broadcast archive team for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The sports enthusiast now has the opportunity to be a part of one of the largest sports broadcasts worldwide. Austin will be an archive team member as a mixed zone logger. She will be one of 20-30 team members that will be responsible for tagging interview footage with metadata, which makes it easier for stations around the world to pull specific segments of footage for their broadcast.
Specifically, Austin will review interview footage and tag the country, name of athlete, event, nature of the interview, etc. so that broadcasts, like NBC in the U.S., can search through the footage archive and find the clips needed to piece together the broadcast we see on our screens.
“It’s going to be quite the experience,” Austin said. “I’ll be there for the duration of the games and will review countless hours of footage to make sure everything that makes the archive is tagged correctly and looks and sounds good enough to reach broadcast. It will surely make for long days, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Whether making sure athletes look their best during the games, or working behind the scenes to make broadcasts around the world run smoothly, the Spears School of Business will be able to claim a small part in the games in Paris. It’s a reality that, as the games draw nearer and nearer, still hasn’t set in for the two alumni.
“If you would’ve told 8-year-old me, watching Shawn Johnson win gold in Beijing, that I would one day work at an event like that, I would never have believed you,” Austin said. “We’re weeks away from the start of the games and I still don’t believe it.”
Story by: Jeff Hopper | Engage@Spears magazine
Photos by: Adam Luther and Devin Flores