Brianna Bryant, She’s Got The BEAT
For Brianna Bryant, senior in RPTM and current intern with Titus Sports Academy in Wilmington, Delaware, being part of a community is what makes her happy. “I love that this facility is full of people,” she said. “There are so many different events going on. It is fun and fast-paced.”
Brianna picked Penn State over other schools because of the reputation, sports, and opportunity to network with other Penn Staters. “I went to small schools, so I wanted a big school with big school spirit.” Like other students, she wanted a sports management-related major and learned that RPTM is the closest major to sports management that Penn State offers. “I started in business but that wasn’t enough sports,” she reflected. She soon found her way to RPTM.
With a long-term career goal to end up in NFL operations, and to perhaps one day own her own training facility, Brianna got involved as soon she got University Park. She got involved with Penn State football, first as a video management intern and then in recruiting and operations. She is currently President of Penn State’s Minorities in Sports Club.
She enrolled in RPTM 495A (Internship) for summer 2024. According to their website, Titus Sports Academy offers programs for athletes in a variety of sports as well as camps, travel teams, speed-strength training, personal training, as well as NFL/combine training. Their athletes and coaches have succeeded at the highest level including professional sports, Olympians, and Military Special Operations Soldiers.
“I was brought on as an operations and administration intern. After hearing some of my suggestions for how to make better use of social media, they created a new internship position for me. I now oversee the other social media interns and continue to offer operations support.” Her special project for her internship is to revamp her agency’s social media presence.
Brianna hails from the Philadelphia area but was able to accept the internship in Delaware with support from family. The train commute to her internship from home takes about 45 minutes each way. On days or weekends when there are events, she can stay with her aunt who lives close by. Ironically, she learned about Titus because her cousin used to train there.
She opted to complete her internship before her senior year and will return to PSU in August. Brianna opened up about past conversations with her roommates and how learning and listening to diverse backgrounds and perspectives have been so important in her experience at Penn State. Those conversations have led to the formation of a new organization on campus called Black Emotions Advocate Team, or The BEAT. Brianna is leading the charge for this new group that is going to ramp up activities starting Fall of 2024.
“The goal of The BEAT is stress support and providing a group where people can go and feel safe. We talk a lot about mental health at Penn State, but we don’t seem to do anything about it.” Brianna and her friends hope to plan social activities, discussion groups, bring in professional speakers – and even therapy dogs for minority students who are seeking a space to connect and “take a moment to de-stress,” according to Brianna.
In other words, Brianna is working to build a community.
Brianna recently wrote about the community football event that Titus sponsors each year. The profits from the event go back into the community to buy sports equipment for local youth. The event was hosted by two NFL players who trained at Titus on their way to the NFL. “This year we had a total of 300 kids participate in our clinic which is the most participants Titus has ever had. Our event was also featured on the Delaware news channel due to its high volume and reputation within the Delaware community,” she wrote. “Overall, I believe we did a good job of executing this event for the community and I am honored to have played a crucial role in the planning process.”
Sports, networking, and supporting her communities. That is Brianna Bryant.