Story: Lisa Sollie | Photo: Cody Ingram
For Sameria Minor, sports aren’t just about competition, they’re a career calling.
Minor didn’t initially set out to study sport management, but she was certain about one thing: she wanted to attend the University of West Alabama. Her mother earned two degrees from UWA—a master’s degree in counseling in 2005 and an education specialist degree in school counseling in 2012. Minor, familiar with the University where her mother studied online, thought she would be more comfortable with the small-town atmosphere in Livingston. “It’s a lot like Centerville, Alabama, where I grew up.”
Initially an accounting major, Minor realized she didn’t like accounting. Then she discovered sport management in the course catalog, a perfect blend of her business interests and love of athletics.
“One thing that intrigued me about the major was the focus wasn’t necessarily on the sports themselves, but the business behind them,” Minor says. “Many of my classmates—mostly guys aiming to coach or train—are drawn to the sports side, but I knew that wasn’t the direction I wanted.”
Her focus on the business aspects of sports led to hands-on experience that clarified her career goals. A summer internship with Bibb Medical Center’s human resources director in her hometown, helped solidify her direction.
The experience revealed how much she enjoyed collaborating across departments and serving as a resource for others. “I don’t think I want to do one thing all day, every day,” she says. That insight shaped her long-term goal: working in human resources for a professional sports team.
To pursue that goal, Minor will enroll in UWA’s online MBA program this spring, concentrating in human resources, so she can work while continuing her studies. “I am lining up several interviews for human resource assistant positions back home,” she says. “Hopefully one of them will work out.”
Her time at UWA has shaped her in ways that go beyond academics.
“I’m not normally someone who jumps right in, and I struggled with that during my freshman year,” she says. But that began to change her sophomore year. Since then she steadily stepped into campus life, and over the past three years she has served as a UWA student ambassador, danced on the UWA band’s dance line, joined Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority, and held a work-study job in the Student Life office.
She said that mentoring from professors like Dr. LaJuan Hutchinson have helped her be successful at UWA.
“Once I got involved, it was easy to fall in love with this place,” she says. “I’m forever grateful to UWA and my professors, especially ‘Dr. Hutch,’ for their support and encouragement along the way. I feel like I found myself here, and it feels good.”