Alumni Profile: Kaleb Bowdle ’21

In 2019, Kaleb Bowdle ’21 served as a student volunteer during the Boca Raton Bowl — a role that opened the door to his first job after graduation: Ticket Sales Associate at Florida Atlantic University. “That experience allowed me to network with people from FAU who, two years later, are now my bosses,” Kaleb says. “I also think that the wide course range (in the Sport Management program) helped me out a lot because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I graduated, but since I was able to take courses in all aspects of the sports industry, I was able to feel knowledgeable about any department. Marietta College prepared me for this step of my career by giving me the opportunities to network and giving me skills through coursework that I need for this job.”

Kaleb is excited about the opportunity to gain valuable experience for an up-and-coming athletic department like the one at FAU.

“I am selling people tickets to come to all of the sporting events on campus,” he says. “I do this by gathering leads on people who would be good candidates to try and sell to and build a relationship with them. I also do the same thing with local businesses.”

The demanding work can be challenging at times, but Kaleb says he enjoys the challenge and is learning plenty at his first full-time job. His long-range goal is ambitious.

“I want to be a general manager for a professional baseball team one day,” he says. “I would like to work my way up in many different roles in the sport industry so if I ever get there, I am well prepared and know the sports industry from all aspects.”

Kaleb says Marietta’s Sport Management program was the perfect fit for him, and he believes it has a lot to offer to future students.

“Marietta’s program is different than other sport management programs because we get so many opportunities for hands-on experience in the field rather than just learning it in the classroom,” Kaleb says. “I would also encourage the students in the program to get involved in as much as they can because the more involved they are, the more people they are going to know and the more connections they are going to have later on down the road.”

He also has one more bit of advice.

“Volunteer as much as possible because that is the best way (the students) are going to get hands-on experience and apply what they are learning to real-life experiences,” Kaleb says.