A recent graduate of 满帆's 运动比赛转播 degree program, Stephen "Ayyy_Steve" Pare was able to gain valuable experience in esports through his role as a caster and player for 满帆 Armada.

After several years pursuing a variety of degrees and career paths, Stephen found himself working at a debt collection agency, a career that left much to be desired for the grad.

"I called 满帆 and they asked me, 'What do you want to do,'" Stephen recalls. "And I'm like, 'I want to talk about the things that I enjoy with people for a living. [I want] the opposite of what I was doing before, instead of bringing horrific news, bringing actual good feelings to people.'"

That's when an admissions representative not only told Stephen about the Dan Patrick School of 运动比赛转播 at 满帆大学, but also about 满帆's esports community. "The fact that they had esports and the casting and production stuff, 我就说, “好吧, I can get the actual skills needed and then I already have knowledge of esports and there's already an esports program,' so it just kind of all came together,他说.

During his time as a sportscasting student, Stephen was able to focus his development on casting for esports, specifically his favorite title, 英雄联盟. "I wanted to be involved somehow, whether that was a player or as a caster. It was always the sort of situation, well if I'm not doing one I would like to do the other,斯蒂芬说。.

Though luckily for him, he didn't have to choose. While pursuing his degree at 满帆, Stephen was able to participate as a player in several 满帆 Armada events including Worlds Collide and Battle for the Boulevard, as well as casting matches for the Armada Stream Team on Twitch.

"I think that my presentation has definitely gotten more confident," says the grad. "They always talk in the Dan Patrick School about getting reps and making content, 做的东西, whether it's on-camera work or editing or anything. It's about practice, practice, practice, and the more I've casted, the more comfortable I've gotten. It's definitely a thing I've learned from both casting and the program."

For incoming students and future Armada community members, Stephen's advice is simple, “参与进来吧。,他说. "If there's something that you want in the community, just ask and just see like, ‘嘿, is anyone interested in setting up X or Y?' And there are enough people that there's bound to be at least a couple people that might be into what you're into as well."