Although her Palo Alto, California, family might bleed Stanford Cardinal red, Malea Bieselin, a senior at the University of Oregon, is a proud Duck. She is a business major with a focus in sports business. She is also minoring in Spanish.

Bieselin always knew that her future would entail sports, but she didn't know it would be off the court. A self-proclaimed “baller" since the age of five, her playing career ended when she injured her knee during her sophomore year of high school. She switched to coaching during her junior and senior years, stoking her passion for all angles of sports operations. These events led her to the University of Oregon. She knew the UO sports business program was one of the best in the nation and was also close to home.

In summer 2014, Bieselin interned with the San Francisco Giants. This past summer, she interned with the Wasserman Media Group, a sports marketing and management firm in Los Angeles. There she gained experience with branding for professional athletes, media rights strategies, and marketing plans.

“It was interesting to go to Wasserman after my San Francisco Giants internship last summer," Bieselin said. “While I learned a lot, working for the Giants was the same thing every day; I knew what to expect. At Wasserman, however, every day was different."

When Bieselin isn't studying for her sports business courses, you can find her handling rituals for the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity, attending Warsaw Sports Business Club meetings, or volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club, the Prefontaine Classic, or PGA tournaments. After her winter 2017 graduation, she plans to pursue opportunities in basketball, football, baseball, and golf marketing before she attends graduate school.

Follow Bieselin on Twitter @biesy23.

—By Lea Adamovic, School of Journalism