Students Gain Real-World Experience With SoccerFest 2024

Twenty-three teams participated in SoccerFest 2024, a community-based sports event organized by University of Scranton students in a sports event management course taught by Ovidiu Cocieru, Ph.D., assistant professor of management. The event took place on May 4 at Fitzpatrick Field, located on the University’s campus.

A hands-on opportunity for students in the University's Kania School of Management, SoccerFest 2024 encompassed all aspects of the managing the event, from registration to marketing, to the organization of the play itself.

Dr. Cocieru described the second annual tournament for soccer players of middle and high school ages as a "transformational experience."

"The Sports Event Management course creates an environment that is very similar to real organizations, and students learn from real experience. Student development transcends the content of the course because students' collaboration and decisions have a real-world, positive impact on the community," said Dr.  Cocieru.

"For many of them, it is a transformational experience. I am very proud of them for how they developed and for what they achieved."

The students said the course required out-of-the-box thinking.

"I had a fantastic experience, different than any class I've ever taken. I like that in this class we had the opportunity to make something real happen," said Brendan Karolchyk, a senior with a major in marketing.
"I was able to treat this more like an internship than a traditional class. I felt I could get out of it what I put into it. I pushed myself to think outside the box, try new things, and do something that I'd never done before."  

Students appreciated the ability to connect with the local community.

"My favorite part of the class was the event itself, because I was able to see a lot of the local high schools and U12 and U14 divisions play," Yasmin Ramirez, a senior with a major in management and minors in business analytics and operations management.

"Since I'm local, I was able to see some of my friends play and some of the people that I've coached before play. That was a lot of fun!"

The event generated a profit of $754.17, which the class donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation. 

"I had the best experience with this course. I got to work with an amazing team. I can now say I have eight new friends," said Mary Kate McDade, a junior with a major in marketing and management and a minor in business leadership.

Participating students included Emily Bannon '25, Angelina Giannakopoulos' 24, Brendan Karolchyk '24, Bridget Lear '24, Mary Kate McDade '25, Ryan Nguyen '24, Yasmin Ramirez '24,  Alyvia Schiavone '25, Nicole Smith '24, and Joseph Weinstein '24.

"I want to thank Dr. Mark Higgins, Dean of the Kania School of Management, Dr. Murli Rajan, Associate Dean, and Debbie Parry, Assistant Dean of Operations, for their unwavering support of this project, said Dr. Cocieru. 

"Also, special thanks to Steve Kingman, Athletic Facilities Manager, and all the staff from University Advancement, Police, and Maintenance Departments for all their support of our students in this class. Also special thanks to all the volunteers at our event! SoccerFest would not have been possible without them!" 

The results and the teams can be viewed at https://soccerfest.org/schedule.