In summer 2015, Lauren Sokol, MBA '17, packed up her car and drove from New Jersey to Oregon with one goal in mind—to receive her MBA through the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. She came to the Lundquist College of Business with an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in art history from Hamilton College, a small liberal arts school in upstate New York.

Sokol traces her decision to pursue an MBA in sports business back to 1999 when, as a nine-year old, she was inspired by what she refers to as the “epic" marketing strategy of the 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup team. While at Hamilton College, Sokol also played division three women's lacrosse and decided to pursue a career in coaching after being inspired by her own coach. During her three years as an assistant coach, she found that a master's degree was an expected qualification for any head coach position. With that in mind, she chose to apply to the Oregon MBA program at the UO Lundquist College of Business. She knew that the Warsaw Center's focus on sports marketing would allow her to explore other career options in the sports industry. She has not been disappointed.

“This first year of Warsaw in the Oregon MBA program has been such a transformational experience for me," Sokol says. “I came in as a blank canvas. The guest speakers the program has hosted and the experiential learning trips we've taken have really shaped my interests."

Sokol currently serves as the co-editor of the Warsaw Sports Blog and joined Wilson Sporting Goods as a digital marketing intern in summer 2016. After graduating, Sokol hopes to make an impact in the women's sports industry through brand and product marketing.