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Santer lands dream job with Springfield College

Date: 9/26/2014

SPRINGFIELD – Just three months after graduation, East Longmeadow native Jon Santer found himself employed by his alma mater, Springfield College. On Aug. 19, Santer was named assistant director of sports communications.

In what Santer considers being a dream beginning to his professional career, he will play a vital role in all media and sports communication for Springfield College’s 26 intercollegiate athletic teams. The job comes as a reward to many bold decisions that define the young communications/sports journalism program graduate and his level of maturity.

“In the end, with some luck the hard work I put in last year paid off,” reflected Santer on a very busy senior year.

Last fall, Santer was elected captain of the men’s lacrosse team for the second consecutive year ahead of his fifth and final season of eligibility. With a broken foot fully healed, the team leader decided to walk away from the team to further his career pursuit after helping to win four consecutive Pilgrim Lacrosse League titles.

“Jon, you didn’t come to Springfield College to play lacrosse, you came to prepare to get a job.” Santer remembers head coach Keith Bugbee’s full-fledged support as some of the most important of his college career.

Regardless, Santer made a daring choice rarely made by talented collegiate student athletes.

A tremendous juggling act began in that fall semester, with Santer handling responsibilities as video production intern for Hockey East, sports editor of the Springfield Student, and a 15-credit course load.

Interning with Hockey East meant traversing the state on a weekly basis, traveling to Boston College, Boston University, Providence University, University of New Hampshire, and University of Massachusetts to take video highlights en route to a total of 500 hours of work. Thrown right in the fire, Santer was also responsible for producing a behind-the-scenes look at UMass.

 “There were a lot of sleepless nights. There were weeks where I would sleep twenty hours total,” says Santer of his final year as a student at Springfield.

In his first three years at Springfield beginning in 2009, Santer struggled to find a niche for himself. The longtime standout athlete had not realized an outlet for his desire to work in athletics. After stints as an athletic training major and then physical education major early in his college career, it took just one sports writing course for his calling to be realized.

“Jon is an unusual case in that he came to our major three full years into his college career,” Springfield College Associate Professor of Communications Marty Dobrow said. “He was more excited about sports coverage than any student I have ever seen.”

Sleep was further abandoned in Santer’s final spring semester in attempt to better craft his passion – sports coverage.

The spring was spent logging another 500-hour internship, this time working under Springfield College Director of Sports Communications Brian Magoffin.  By the end of the semester, Santer was the primary contact for all media regarding both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, even running the coverage of an NCAA tournament game.

“When the position [assistant director of sports communications] opened up during the summer, I knew it was where I wanted to be,” said Santer. His proven record of being a valuable asset landed the 23-year-old a job that he attributes to “luck”.

Dobrow disagrees with any notion of luck involved. “I think he was a slam dunk hire for Springfield College. He will pour himself into this job, and it will likely land him other opportunities down the road,” he said.

Perhaps this is just the beginning for Santer, who in rapid fashion has made a name for himself as a blue-collar figure in sports communications.

The East Longmeadow High School and Springfield College alumnus serves as a shining example of how an above and beyond effort can make dreams come true.