By: Emily Dick
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| Rob Magobet |
Rob Magobet planned to work in IT throughout his college career and beyond.
He grew up in a small town in southern New Jersey and moved away to follow his dream at Rutgers. Magobet loved his time at Rutgers, and after four years he graduated with a degree in IT. He went on to get a job as a help desk employee at a leading financial firm.
Everything was going according to plan. That was until Magobet realized one day that he was just going through the motions.
“I never wanted to be just one of those people who just went to a job everyday just to get a paycheck,” Magobet said.
He wanted to follow his passion, and that was to write about sports.
Growing up following Philadelphia sports, Magobet idolized Stephen A. Smith, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Magobet saw how Smith transitioned from one aspect of journalism to another with ease.
“His journalist ability, his ability to write and his ability to showcase his talents on T.V. is what really inspires me,” Magobet said.
Now, at the age of 28, Magobet is making his newly realized dream come true.
“My goal here is definitely to work at the Daily Orange,” said Magobet. “I definitely want to get hands on experience as far as being in an actual news environment where I can build my skills.”
Now that Magobet has all the tools in front of him to make a successful career, he’s excited to make his mark on the sports journalism world.
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Interview Transcript:
ED: You told me that you’re from South Jersey, what was it like growing up in your hometown?
RM: Well it’s a small town in south Jersey, maybe about 20 minutes way from Camden. It’s a town where everybody knows each other, a friendly town. It has a lot of building in it, and what I mean by that is that when I first moved there it was very country like, and about five, six years into it a lot of businesses were built. So the town is definitely great. I like it. It was where I was raised, I’ve been there since I was in 8th grade and I consider that my hometown.
ED: Why did you choose Rutgers for your undergrad?
RM: I chose Rutgers because it was kind of far away from Sicklerville, but it wasn’t that far where I could always come back home if I wanted to. Rutgers is a great New Jersey state school. It has great programs, a great IT program, and the reputation is very good too. So it’s a big school with a lot of things that you can do there, so that’s the reason why I chose it.
ED: So after you graduated for Rutgers in 2010, you went on to be an IT specialist. What was your job like?
RM: I used to work at a job called Lincoln Financial Group where I was a help desk guy. I was a level one help desk guy. Basically I would help out my team modify IT applications. I would test out new IT apps on the computer. If employees inside the company had trouble with those apps it would be my job to see what the problem is and try to fix it. If I couldn’t fix it then I had to delegate the task to my other team. It was a full time job and it got me a lot of IT experience.
ED: That’s a major switch from IT to journalism. What was the biggest reason why you wanted to change career paths?
RM: The reason is because when I was doing my job in IT, I felt as though IT really didn't matter to me. I never wanted to be just one of those people who just went to a job everyday just to get a paycheck. I know that’s essential, I know we live off of money, but I wanted to challenge myself and I really wanted to do something that draws my interest, and that’s always been sports. I’ve always been good at writing and I thought I’d combine the two. Syracuse has a great program so I applied here, and now I’m here!
ED: What’s one of the aspects of the program you are most looking forward to at Syracuse?
RM: I would say the aspect of being able to work at an actual news station. My goal here is definitely to work at the Daily Orange. I definitely want to get hands on experience as far as being in an actual news environment where I can build my skills and get better so those skills can translate to a job or internship after I graduate. I would say that and meeting some of the Syracuse alumni so they can provide me with tips and picking their brain to see what they were doing here at Syracuse so I can do it myself and get where they are right now.
ED: At this point, what’s the end goal? The perfect career? The dream job?
RM: The goal after all of this would probably be to be a beat writer for a NBA team and I would definitely like to be on the radio and write columns that would be the end goal. I also want to be on TV too. I want to be able to do almost everything. I want to be a versatile journalist. I want to be able to hone my skills in writing, but be good on T.V. and radio too.
ED: Is there a certain sports journalist who inspires you?
RM: Well, probably the number one sports journalist that inspires me would have to be Stephen A. Smith. He actually used to work for the Philadelphia Inquirer and I’m from that area. I’m from south Jersey, but anyone in south Jersey, we kind of associate ourselves with Philly. So I followed him ever since he was an upcoming journalist. He did a great job for the Sixers. He always had the same personality that he conveys on T.V. as he did in Philly. So his journalist ability, his ability to write and his ability to showcase his talents on T.V. is what really inspires me.
ED: That’s great. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
RM: I would like to say, this is a great class. I feel as though this class is definitely going to help us all out. The program in its entirety is great. It’s definitely pushing us and challenging us.
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