Building Her Future in Sports One Opportunity at a Time

Cristina Solano came to Bradley planning to work behind the scenes in sports medicine. She’s leaving with her sights set on the sports media world and a growing list of high-profile internships to prove she made the right call.

When she first arrived at Bradley, Solano started as a Public Health Education major. “I originally wanted to be an athletic trainer, but after taking a speech class, I discovered I love writing and presenting speeches,” she said. Solano found she could still work with athletes by pursuing a major in Sports Communication, and it turned out to be the best decision.

Since switching majors, she’s also picked up minors in Journalism, Women and Gender Studies, Advertising and Public Relations, and Social Media Marketing. Solano admits it’s tough juggling all these minors, but she said, “I feel like these all work in my favor after graduation, as employers will see me as a jack of all trades and it opens up more opportunities for me to pursue.” In addition to her studies, Solano is a member of Chi Omega, broadcasting chair for the hockey team, and she writes for The Bradley Scout. 

 

Transformative Experiences

Each year Bradley junior and senior Communication students are eligible to apply for internships at the Chicago Auto Show, which takes place every February. Initially, Solano wasn’t going to apply for it, believing the competition would be too steep, but she was encouraged to pursue this opportunity by her Communication professor, Chris Marsh.

“I didn’t think I would stand out from everyone else, but he believed in me,” Solano explained. Not only did her application stand out, but she landed the internship along with six other Bradley students.

Although the days were long, she enjoyed every minute of the experience. “I had fun, and I enjoyed meeting people, especially Bradley alumni, and asking them how Bradley helped them in their careers,” she explained. In fact, she bumped into Jordyn Muscarello ’25, who did the same internship the year before and is now a communication specialist at the Chicago Automobile Trade Association.

A highlight of Solano’s internship was meeting actor Sung Kang, known for his role in the Fast & Furious franchise. “He was genuinely the nicest person I ever met,” she gushed. “He shook my hand, asked me a little about myself, and filmed some content for social media with me.”

In her free time, she bonded with the other interns, going out and grabbing dinner. “It was crazy in the sense that I had classes with these girls before but never really spoke to them, and now we’re together all day and having fun all because of this experience.”

Although Solano doesn’t know what she wants to do after she graduates, she feels no matter what she pursues, Bradley has prepared her. “I have been exploring various fields in the sports industry because I love to learn new things. Without Bradley, I wouldn’t have had as much faith in myself or been able to have these incredible opportunities like interning at the Chicago Auto Show and the NFL Draft last year, or my upcoming internship this summer at the Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria,” she explained.

“Bradley has pushed me to places I could have never imagined.”

—Emily Potts