University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Ramberg's Side of the Cinderella Story
3/17/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
March 17, 2018
Gopher Sports: How did you get this job with America East and how has the year been going?
Jessica Ramberg: During my postgrad internship at the NCAA I met Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the America East Conference, at the 2017 NCAA Inclusion Forum. I stayed in touch with her and when I was out in Boston working the NCAA Lacrosse Championships I had asked to visit the America East Conference office. A couple weeks before I went out to Boston, I received word that there was a job opening at the conference office. I sent in an application and interviewed on my visit. The rest is history.
When you hear that building genuine relationships with professionals in your field is important and could one day help you get a job, it's true. That's how my story started and ended with getting my job at the America East Conference. Working at the America East Conference has been everything that I've needed to learn, grow and achieve in my career so far. I love college athletics and love being at the conference office working to create the best student-athlete experience for our nine institutions.
GS: What was the moment like when UMBC started winning? What was your social plan going in and did that change as all eyes turned toward your accounts?
JR: When it went to the half it was hard not to think this could actually happen, but I knew from my experience as a diver at Minnesota that anything can happen, and you need to take each moment at a time.
When it started to get really loud in the arena you just knew that something magical was going to happen! Being around UMBC you could feel the energy and confidence the players had and that made me excited for what was about to happen. The social plan was to capture those moments fans didn't see on TV. We wanted to show the players going through their emotions as they experience the greatest show on earth. We were all hands-on-deck towards the end of the game because you could just tell this win was going to blow things up on social media, TV, news, you name it.
GS: What were you thinking as all the attention turned towards UMBC's Twitter account and how did you play along with that?
JR: I sat next to Zach Seidel during the game, the master mind behind UMBC's Twitter account. I kept showing him the reactions that were happening. At one point his laptop started to glitch. All we did was watch to see if it would stop and eventually it did. At that moment he knew things were making a big impact in the world. Every timeout we would take a deep breath. Zach was crushing the Twitter world and it was cool to see the wave of reactions about his work on the account. The account's attention definitely influenced us to have some fun.
GS: What was the whole experience like? Were you in the locker room after and is it still surreal to think about? What happens next as you get ready for the next game?
JR: The entire experience is a rollercoaster of emotions, you're beyond excited and then you're silent, you want to run around and celebrate, but have to remain calm. When big moments like these happen, you try to capture everything and anything you can. I ran around with two phones attached to portable phone chargers just so I could get double the content.
You can't help but smile when you look around the arena and see all of the fans cheer for UMBC. We didn't leave the arena until 1 a.m. When I got back to the hotel I finished up some projects and started to prepare for the next day. I also wanted to scroll through the feeds to see what was all happening and to relive it. As the next game approaches, I just plan to do what I did before and enjoy the moment with the team.
GS: Did you learn anything in your time with the Gophers that helped you for this position?
JR: My time with the Gophers prepared me for everything in this position. Starting with my student-athlete experience. The student-athlete development staff laid the foundation for me during my freshman year that I needed to prepare for life after sports. I took on internships and volunteered to find out what I truly love and am passionate for, and that involves helping young adults and students through sports be inspired and educated on the opportunities they have to succeed in academics, sport and life.
My coaches, academic advisors, athletic administrators and many more supported me through my four years at Minnesota. My last two years at Minnesota were game changers as I became involved in the Gophers' communications staff and Gopher Digital Productions. I worked on projects from football to gymnastics to hockey with various types of work. Working with Minnesota communications and Gopher Digital Productions really gave me a peak into college athletics and made me want to pursue a career in sports.
By now you have heard about UMBC and their historic victory in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. You have also probably heard about the rise of their social media account growing from six thousand to now over 83 thousand followers.
What you might not know is one of the people behind the entire social strategy is Minnesota's own Jessica Ramberg. The former Honorable Mention All-American diver and student worker in the Gopher athletic communications and Gopher Digital Production offices is now the Director of Strategic Media for the American East conference. We caught up with her below:
.@AmericaEast & @UMBCAthletics social & digital team ????????
We gave it our all and witnessed the GREATEST UPSET of all upsets! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/7MqS1TIkoa-- Jessica Ramberg (@AE_JessRamberg) March 17, 2018
Gopher Sports: How did you get this job with America East and how has the year been going?
Jessica Ramberg: During my postgrad internship at the NCAA I met Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the America East Conference, at the 2017 NCAA Inclusion Forum. I stayed in touch with her and when I was out in Boston working the NCAA Lacrosse Championships I had asked to visit the America East Conference office. A couple weeks before I went out to Boston, I received word that there was a job opening at the conference office. I sent in an application and interviewed on my visit. The rest is history.
When you hear that building genuine relationships with professionals in your field is important and could one day help you get a job, it's true. That's how my story started and ended with getting my job at the America East Conference. Working at the America East Conference has been everything that I've needed to learn, grow and achieve in my career so far. I love college athletics and love being at the conference office working to create the best student-athlete experience for our nine institutions.
GS: What was the moment like when UMBC started winning? What was your social plan going in and did that change as all eyes turned toward your accounts?
JR: When it went to the half it was hard not to think this could actually happen, but I knew from my experience as a diver at Minnesota that anything can happen, and you need to take each moment at a time.
When it started to get really loud in the arena you just knew that something magical was going to happen! Being around UMBC you could feel the energy and confidence the players had and that made me excited for what was about to happen. The social plan was to capture those moments fans didn't see on TV. We wanted to show the players going through their emotions as they experience the greatest show on earth. We were all hands-on-deck towards the end of the game because you could just tell this win was going to blow things up on social media, TV, news, you name it.
GS: What were you thinking as all the attention turned towards UMBC's Twitter account and how did you play along with that?
JR: I sat next to Zach Seidel during the game, the master mind behind UMBC's Twitter account. I kept showing him the reactions that were happening. At one point his laptop started to glitch. All we did was watch to see if it would stop and eventually it did. At that moment he knew things were making a big impact in the world. Every timeout we would take a deep breath. Zach was crushing the Twitter world and it was cool to see the wave of reactions about his work on the account. The account's attention definitely influenced us to have some fun.
GS: What was the whole experience like? Were you in the locker room after and is it still surreal to think about? What happens next as you get ready for the next game?
JR: The entire experience is a rollercoaster of emotions, you're beyond excited and then you're silent, you want to run around and celebrate, but have to remain calm. When big moments like these happen, you try to capture everything and anything you can. I ran around with two phones attached to portable phone chargers just so I could get double the content.
You can't help but smile when you look around the arena and see all of the fans cheer for UMBC. We didn't leave the arena until 1 a.m. When I got back to the hotel I finished up some projects and started to prepare for the next day. I also wanted to scroll through the feeds to see what was all happening and to relive it. As the next game approaches, I just plan to do what I did before and enjoy the moment with the team.
Ahhhh...a night to NEVER forget! Still wearing my amazed face because @UMBC_MBB shocked the world! #MarchMadness #AEHoops pic.twitter.com/Ei5pgtQei7
-- Jessica Ramberg (@AE_JessRamberg) March 17, 2018
GS: Did you learn anything in your time with the Gophers that helped you for this position?
JR: My time with the Gophers prepared me for everything in this position. Starting with my student-athlete experience. The student-athlete development staff laid the foundation for me during my freshman year that I needed to prepare for life after sports. I took on internships and volunteered to find out what I truly love and am passionate for, and that involves helping young adults and students through sports be inspired and educated on the opportunities they have to succeed in academics, sport and life.
My coaches, academic advisors, athletic administrators and many more supported me through my four years at Minnesota. My last two years at Minnesota were game changers as I became involved in the Gophers' communications staff and Gopher Digital Productions. I worked on projects from football to gymnastics to hockey with various types of work. Working with Minnesota communications and Gopher Digital Productions really gave me a peak into college athletics and made me want to pursue a career in sports.
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