Catamount Roger Cote is waiting for a phone call that should have come in July, but as each day passes and November is nearly halfway through, the phone call still hasn’t come.
Roger Cote announces Catamount Football for live web streams
Cote is waiting for a call from NBC to determine whether or not he will be interning with NBC at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Cote, a junior, is a Communications major at Western Carolina with concentrations in broadcasting and journalism, and knows just how big this opportunity would be for him.
“I’m not sure if anybody knows just how big of an opportunity this is. Anybody trying to be in the sports industry would go crazy over this internship because it includes everything you could possibly need to do in the industry,” said Cote.
Gabe Nucci, Assistant Professor of Broadcasting at Western Carolina, says that the internship will offer much more than just broadcasting experience.
“The internship is more valuable as a life experience than professional experience. You’re constantly meeting new people from different walks of life than yourself,” says Nucci. But at the same time, Nucci maintains that the Olympics are an example of the industry at its best, with all cylinders running at the same time.
The Olympics is a jumping ground for Cote, as he hopes to become a sports commentator, calling games in the NFL or in the World Series. However, Cote’s dreams weren’t always in the sports arena.
Cote, 26, first started his career as a student at Western Carolina eight years ago as a music education major, which he says he would’ve hated every moment of. After taking six years off, working as a server at Outback Steakhouse, as a ski instructor, and even dabbing in construction, Cote was ready to get his head back in the game.
“I wasn’t ready to keep going in school, and the last six years before I came back in 2009 were just what I needed to get my head on straight,” Cote said.
It wasn’t until one of Cote’s friends asked why he wasn’t putting his love for sports to use that Cote considered becoming a Communications major.
As Cote waits to hear from NBC, he knows that the road ahead of him holds opportunities that he could’ve never imagined, thanks to the Communications department.
Nucci explained that any general Communication background puts students on par in the industry. Specifically the broadcasting concentration has provided students with the facilities to excel in the broadcasting industry.
“The broadcasting concentration is fairly hands on and we have a high end facility. When students enter the industry, they will be in an environment that is familiar,” said Nucci.
On being a Communications major, Cote noted that the students and professors are the best crutch that anybody could hope for.
“When you feel like you just can’t go on any further, they are always there to keep you going and encourage you the whole way through,” said Cote.
