Not only was Avery Marz ’18 one of the newest members of the St. Joe’s athletic department, and a student athlete on Hawk Hill less than a year ago, but she also has experience with multimedia storytelling, having her own story told on a national level.
Marz, a former member of the women’s basketball team, was hired as a graduate assistant in the athletics department with a focus on digital content creation, specifically on the social media side. She plans on pursuing a master’s in psychology at St. Joe’s as well.
“I think having my story told and helping people out [through that] just showed me the importance of connecting people through storytelling and letting people use their voice on campus,” Marz said. “You realize that as great as sports are, there’s so much more that goes on around them as well.”
On the day Marz moved into St. Joe’s her first year, she had a stroke. Her journey through a grueling recovery process was documented by major sports media outlets like ESPN and the Associated Press. She is the recipient of the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in 2018, as well as the first annual Jemele Hill Courage award. She said that that experience helped her decide where she wanted to take her career after basketball.
As the athletics department continues its turnover, social media and digital content will become instrumental in extending the brand of St. Joe’s, something that Marz said she is excited to begin working on.
“We’re trying to go through the ideation process of what we want to do,” Marz said. “Where we want to take the department in general in terms of digital and doing things that we haven’t done before. What I hope to do is take it to a different level and produce some content that other schools aren’t producing and show what makes Hawk Hill unique.”
Marz worked at Turner Sports in Atlanta throughout the summer and said she admittedly didn’t think she’d end up back in West Philadelphia, but she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to return home.
“I really enjoyed Atlanta this summer,” Marz said. “I talked to Jill [Bodensteiner, J.D.] about it just recently and of course St. Joe’s holds a special place in my heart. I spent five years here as a student athlete. It’s different this time coming back being on the communications staff because a lot of my teammates are still here. I thought I would move on, but I’m really overjoyed honestly with the position.”
According to Rob Sullivan, senior associate athletic director of external affairs, who works closely with Marz, it’s not difficult to see why she has fit so well into her new role. Sullivan said Marz is often able to “call upon her own student athlete experiences and incorporate that into St. Joe’s.”
“Her transition has been seamless,” Sullivan said. “That’s because of her ability to connect not only with student athletes, but her professional colleagues. That stems from her personal journey and high powered internships. As a department, we’ll really be able to learn and get better from her.”
Associate Director of Athletic Communication Jack Jumper agreed. He said her recent experience as a student athlete helps “add a unique dimension” to the athletic department.
“Avery is making a smooth transition into athletics communications and has shown an eagerness to learn,” Jumper said. “Along with traditional athletics communications duties, we’re looking forward to having Avery help us create a larger social media presence across all our platforms this coming year.”
The work Marz is and will continue to do is something that she sees as a trend indicative of not only where athletics is going, but the entire globe. She sees social media and sports as inherently intertwined.
“Social media is crucial in seeing how the world is feeling,” Marz said. “Social media is the plug for everything whether that’s good or bad. That’s just where the world is moving. If we don’t jump on board at this time, then we’re going to be kind of left in the dust because I think a lot of programs are doing that.”
Marz hopes to bridge the gap between St. Joe’s athletes and not only the rest of the campus, but the rest of the world.
“I get to tell stories that I think need to be told here on campus,” Marz said. “As someone who’s had their story told over and over again, which I’m very grateful for, I know other athletes may appreciate having their stories told as well. That’s really why I’m here on campus, to let people get to know the student athletes, who they are, not necessarily what they do.”
