Student Highlight: Vikram Singh MA '21

Initially, Vikram wanted to stay in academia and contemplated becoming a professor. However, his passion for sports took over and he quickly realized the value of obtaining a master’s degree so he could start specializing in an area and/or discipline within the sports business industry. After conducting thorough research, he decided to enroll in the SMC Graduate Kinesiology program due to its sense of community, the intimate classroom environment, and the alumni and student profiles of success that he had read.  

One course which Vikram particularly highlights is External Relations: Media, Public Relations, Marketing, and Sponsorship taught by Professor Matthew Perl. In addition to teaching at Saint Mary’s, Professor Perl is the founder of Orange Moose Consulting. Prior to founding his own consulting business Professor Perl worked in Major League Baseball for many years and most recently worked as the Director of Marketing and Broadcasting for the Oakland Athletics. Professor Perl brought his own real life experience in marketing and perspectives on baseball to the classroom which Vikram highlights as one of his favorite aspects of the course. As part of the class, students  developed a comprehensive integrated marketing campaign for a sports entity of their choosing; Vikram’s campaign was for the San Diego Padres. Moreover, part of students’ learning about marketing campaigns also involved learning about the impact that data and data mining can have on a successful and dynamic marketing department.

Presently, Vikram is interning with UC Berkeley’s Department of Recreational Sports. His duties include researching and contacting recreational programs all across the country in order to inquire about their in-person operations and understand how they are handling Covid-19 restrictions and procedures. All of this information and data will be implemented into Berkeley’s return to play and on-site initiatives. The objective is to bring all of the activities back to pre-pandemic conditions by the start of the Fall semester, or at least by the end of the year.  

In addition to his experience working for UC Berkeley, Vikram also worked as a Guest Experience Representative for the Golden State Warriors while in the Graduate Kinesiology program. Working for and being a part of the opening of the Chase Center ignited a passion for providing guests with top quality experiences. He aspires to be the Director or President of Guest Services for a collegiate or professional organization one day, and is on his way there as he has been offered a position with the Sacramento Republic Football Club as the Guest Services Manager for the franchise.