Sydney Marshburn

How would you describe your college experience?

When I arrived at MTSU, I immediately got involved with student organizations as a way to make friends and find my niche.  Those organizations ultimately opened a realm of career-based opportunities for me. My years at MTSU went by very quickly because I was so active.  In college, as the VP of Special Events for CMA EDU, I gained proficient experience writing promotional materials for the Country Music Association’s (CMA) collegiate outreach program.  This included organizing and collaborating on our chapter’s program development and reporting our consumer marketing research results to CMA.

Even though I majored in Music Business, my heart truly belongs to sports. For the past year, I was the Marketing and Communications Director of the MTSU Ice Hockey Club.  2019-2020 was their inaugural season in the SEC Hockey Conference, and it was the first time the team shed their ‘collegiate club sport’ bias through their media and community presence. I managed their social media accounts, authored press releases, updated fans through newsletters, trained our merchandisers, maintained current sponsorships and established new ones, organized fundraisers and coordinated volunteer events.  I made it my mission to involve our players in more local volunteerism.  We started a professional relationship with the Homes for Our Troops organization, building houses for wounded veterans.  I coordinated a 2020 Pups ‘N’ Pucks calendar to benefit our local PAWS animal shelter. We launched our Kids Club and Blue Line Buddies program; where local Nashville age group athletes suited up and were announced as part of MT Hockey's starting lineup. With the city of Murfreesboro, I organized a 'Skate with the Blue Raiders' session during Winterfest 2019.  To help elementary schoolers become excited about learning, I scheduled and publicized 'High-Five Fridays' with a local elementary school.

When did you know that you wanted to major in a STEM discipline?

I’ll be honest; I am not directly a STEM major. My sisters are both currently STEM students at their respective universities, but I chose a different path.  I received my bachelor’s degree in Recording Industry with a concentration in Music Business and a minor in Mass Communications.  However, for my entire life, I’ve been surrounded by women that have used STEM.  When my family was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, the Navy would host an annual STEM day for middle school-aged girls.  We were shuttled around the base to experience a variety of STEM workshops, such as underwater engineering, physical therapy, chemistry, and biology.  I found it interesting to learn how many ways STEM overlapped into my everyday life.

What is the most rewarding thing that you do in your job as a STEM professional?

Although my career path is more communications and media-focused, I have gained a more in-depth understanding of sports through STEM.  During my senior year of undergraduate school, I conducted a research project about sports helmets.  In this experiment, I studied the measurement of force contributing to concussions in MTSU Sports.  The project included hockey, football, soccer, rugby, and baseball helmets.  I tested which helmet is most effective against trauma.  Ironically, during this research, I sustained two concussions.  My STEM project helped me understand that there is no such thing as a ‘concussion-proof helmet’ as some helmet ads would suggest.  I can share this newfound knowledge with helmet companies so that they can more truthfully market their products.  This will help the consumer know what they are investing in and save the companies for false advertisement lawsuits.

What would you tell a middle or high school girl about careers in STEM?

We are fortunate to live in a time where women are breaking barriers in the name of science. Careers once thought to be impossible for women to attain are now thriving under female leadership.  I have continued to gain a greater appreciation for science, technology, engineering, & mathematics and how they are used to address real-world problems.  I am proud to be part of a generation of women who are using STEM properties to solve these problems.  I would tell aspiring students that opportunities in STEM are boundless and to find an area of science that fulfills them.  

What should middle and high school girls be doing to prepare themselves for college and a STEM careers?

Keep a log of every STEM-related extracurricular you attend so that when the time comes to create a resume, you have the information ready to go.  Also, take part in every science extracurricular your schedules allow.  This includes STEM events such as the annual Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Science and Mathematics conference.

What advice do you have for teachers and counselors who are assisting students prepare for a STEM major and career?

Insist students try out a variety of STEM courses in high school so by the time they are in college, they already have an idea of what they want to do.  Also, college courses can be extremely rigorous.  I recommend counselors encourage dual-enrolling at an accredited university in high school so that the student can lessen their workload in college and take time to focus on making future career goals happen.  Teachers could start to put a higher focus on scientific writing courses to prepare students for college.

What career advice would you give to girls if you only have two minutes?

If I only had two minutes to give girls advice, it would be to get involved in organizations that pique your interests.  Don’t limit yourself, but do not spread yourself too thin. Keep an open mind; you never know what opportunities lie waiting.  Engage with your professors.  It seems incredulous that a required Physical Science course would lead me down the path of further understanding the science behind concussions, but my professor inspired me to look at my career choice through a scientific lens.  I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone and did not limit myself to just communications and media-based experiences.