BALTIMORE — Only 2 teams will raise trophies and cut the nets as champions at the end of the CIAA basketball tournament here in Baltimore.
But there's more ways to win than just that.
Students got their shot at landing some promising careers at the CIAA Career Expo Thursday afternoon.
Young talent wandered through a field of opportunity at the Baltimore Convention Center.
"It’s important to me. Especially being at an HBCU," said Rasean White, a senior sports management major at St. Augustine University.
Rasean White came to Baltimore to play basketball on one of the biggest stages for HBCU's, but walked away with some plays he can make as a graduate and professional.
Dozens of companies and schools took the opportunity to network with the soon to be graduates.
Hamilton Raymond at Johnson C. Smith University is hoping to attract candidates to their newly formed E-Sports gaming program while noting an absence in diverse representation in the field.
"E-Sports gaming every year has an availability of 448,000 jobs and people that look like us only represent 2% of that job market. So it’s important for us because we have to change the narrative," said Raymond.
Of course, the host city Baltimore couldn't miss the opportunity to make some of these students' brief trip a little more long term.
"We would love to have them come back and stay and work in Baltimore, especially Baltimore City. It’s a very thriving community and we have a lot going on that would benefit them," said Catonya Lester, a business service representative for the City of Baltimore.
"A lot of these opportunities with internships are full time immediately after I graduate so. It opened my eyes to a lot of different things I didn’t have before coming here," White shared.
Student athletes like White are now exposed to opportunites ahead and the bigger picture of the tournament which offers a lot more than just basketball.
"We just got knocked out the tournament yesterday, sadly, but you know this here cheered me up," White shared.
