Brandon Johnson’16
From coast to coast, students from all over the country find their homes at Bradley. Kitrina Baumgartner ’15, a Southern California native with an interest in sports communication, was one such person.
Baumgartner transferred to Bradley after two years of community college to take advantage of one of the nation’s few sports communication programs and “to challenge myself in a new place.”
She made the most of two years on the Hilltop by interning with Bradley’s sports marketing department and competing on the nationally-recognized speech team. Baumgartner also spent a summer close to home interning for the Vallejo Admirals, an independent minor league baseball team.
The speech team was an especially strong attraction as she prepared herself for a career in college athletic communications.
“My speech coach painted Bradley as the best option for my studies and speech,” Baumgartner said. “I wanted to take the leap and be on most successful collegiate speech team in history.”
To settle into Midwestern life, Baumgartner immersed herself in transfer groups and built relationships with faculty. Coming from a bustling community college, she appreciated the small class sizes, which gave her the comfort needed to seek new experiences.
As a member of the speech team, Baumgartner had the opportunity to travel the country and learn the team’s standards for excellence and tradition. She competed in five speaking events over her two years, ranging from limited preparation events to public address events. This gave her skills that allowed her to think on her feet, and in her opinion earn a tough skin with critiques from others.
“Overall this was a great experience, there was a plethora of opportunities for me,” she said.
