SAN FRANCISCO – With millions of users and billions of tweets each month, a group of 10 student-athletes and staffers with San Francisco women's basketball team was recently able to visit one of Twitter's 41 offices around the world, right in their own backyard.

"Getting the opportunity to do some like this this summer opens my eyes to life after college," noted senior Claudia Price. "A lot of my peers aren't thinking about their next chapter in life, what is needed to help you grow as an individual, or even the importance of getting to know people. The Twitter event was just a stepping stone of making and continuing to build loyal friendships with others and building the pathway to success that we have created for ourselves. I'm thankful as well as honored to be a part of a trending success that USF women's basketball has provided and will continue to provide."

The excursion to the company's headquarters on San Francisco's Market Street was arranged as part of a newly implemented program of professional growth and development, designed and executed by USF Athletics' Director of Academic Support Joo Ae Lippe-Klein and Associate Head Coach Shanele Stires.

"We wanted to develop a program that engaged our student-athletes with the opportunities that San Francisco has to offer so that they can develop their resume and their network while being at USF in order to prepare them for their life after basketball," explained Lippe-Klein. "The women participated in voluntary workshops leading up to the Twitter visit that focused on resume building, networking, informational interviews and career exploration. 

"The workshops were a great way to develop relationships off the court and learn about their various interests other than basketball, ranging from marketing and international business to the Peace Corps and Red Cross. As USF student-athletes, these women are not only great athletes but brilliant individuals who will be great additions to the any organization they work for. The plan is to work to continue to expand the program and create more experiences, like the twitter visit to other companies in fields that our student-athletes are interested in."

Marisa McGilliard, senior managing counsel at Twitter, helped spearhead a panel of four women to speak to the team and coaches. She took the USF group on a tour of the facilities, stopping in the Aviary and the outdoor workspace. McGilliard demonstrated the art installation of a beating heart sculpture of pulsating lights in the common area. Choosing a talked-about topic on the nearby screen, like sports in this Olympic cycle, makes the heart glow red and beat faster based on how many tweets are being sent in real time.

After the spin through the café and a taste of iced coffee, it was time to sit down with the panel to discuss the foursome's journey to Twitter and path at the company, as well as share knowledge and advice with the student-athletes on how these women can achieve their desired professional destination after matriculating from USF.

"For a majority of us, once we hit graduation our respective sport is over with," said senior and Bay Area native, Rachel Howard. "Touring somewhere like Twitter, an extremely successful business, and meeting some of their top employees was an unforgettable experience and something not many universities are able to offer their student-athletes. Receiving an inside, intricate look at how the business world works is something any college student is searching for, and I am forever grateful to my coaches and the support staff at USF for granting this opportunity to me."
 
In her current role at the company, McGilliard manages the inbound licensing and sourcing legal team. She talked about her route from the University of Michigan to earning her law degree at Oregon and emerging into the workplace at Nike. After transitioning to the tech industry, McGilliard has developed a skillset that has allowed her to become an expert negotiator while keeping everyone's best interests in mind to get the deal done. That spirit of effective communication is translatable not only in sport or business, but in everyday aspects of life.

Jamie Russo, Loyola Marymount graduate and former collegiate basketball player, talked about her translatable skills that she learned on the court that have benefited her in her current role as a brand strategy producer for Twitter. Finding a niche that she was passionate about has allowed her to blossom while taking on high visibility projects including the strategy for the Captain America: Civil War campaign. In that release, she worked with the team at Walt Disney Studios to turn out more than 1,000 custom videos to engage with fans through the platform. One of the items that the young professional addressed with the team was to encourage them to learn what they love, and to be confident in their interactions with managers and coworkers in the workplace.

Del Harvey, one of the longest tenured employees at Twitter, heads up the company's Trust and Safety division in the vice president's role. After an engaging description of a long list of varied careers Harvey has entertained, she talked about working her way not just up the ladder, but around the jungle gym.

"My biggest takeaway from the Twitter event was understanding that there are not direct paths or a set way to get to your goals in life," added Price. "Instead, you have to cherish the opportunities that you are blessed to have and value what you've learned to turn them into bigger, better opportunities."

In Harvey's current role, her department ensures user trust, protects user rights and crafts and enforces policies for areas with legal components. Addressing the international student-athletes in the group, Harvey and the panel talked about the assets these women can bring to an organization, whether abroad or stateside, with a different perspective and experience than that of their counterparts.

Marianne Fogarty, the director of compliance at the organization, was the newest panelist to join twitter after an expansive career in New York City at MasterCard and other East Coast law firms. She's responsible for building, implementing and managing Twitter's global legal and regulatory program, ensuring an effective and adaptable business and risk profile for the organization. Spending the last year in San Francisco, part of the allure and excitement of her role is the ability to create and build a new program in a booming industry on a global scale.

One thing that was stressed throughout the afternoon was the power of teamwork, not only on the basketball court but also in the business realm. Confidence from your manager – or coach – that you have the interest of the team and organization at the forefront which in turn influences your performance is key. And in turn, when rising up the business ranks to a position of power and influence, it is paramount to work closely with your team to ensure everyone knows that you are all working for a common goal to achieve success.

"Role modeling, informational interviews and relationship building are valuable ways that our student-athletes can gain insight to life after basketball, and prepare for real-world experiences by being exposed to these types of situations," added Stires on the benefits of the emerging program at USF. "The culmination of our summer term professional development program was taking our fully-engaged students to interact and engage with successful Bay Area professionals whom our student-athletes can model and emulate.

"Coach Azzi and our entire staff want our players to graduate with more than just a jump shot, but also a valuable and meaningful degree that has real world applications. Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are a fertile and rich place for our student-athletes to gain that experience."