Ali Stott is finishing her bachelor’s degree in public relations and has gained experience at Northwest as the Student Activities Council's concert director and in athletics marketing. (Photo by Carly Hostetter)

Dec. 5, 2018

Stott’s campus experiences, coursework shaping her future

By Tara Garcia, communication assistant

Ali Stott began her time as a student-athlete at Northwest Missouri State University but suffered injuries that forced her to retire. Unwilling to leave athletics entirely, she made her mark at Northwest as a contributor to athletic marketing and media.

Stott, a Kansas City, Missouri, native, will receive her bachelor’s degree from Northwest in public relations this month.

“I started playing softball in second grade and played all the way through my senior year of high school,” Stott said. “I did not want to stop playing, so I decided to go to walk-on tryouts for Northwest. My favorite part about playing softball for Northwest was being able to travel to new places to play the game. I built a lot of great relationships with my teammates. They felt like sisters to me.”

But Stott’s career ended prematurely when she had surgery on both knees. She turned her focus to athletic marketing where her duties included posting live game updates through Twitter and researching how to improve interactions on all Bearcat athletic social media outlets.

She attended weekly press conferences at Pizza Ranch with coaches and assisted with relaying information to media about Northwest teams. This fall, Stott earned a paid position and photographed football games.

Her favorite part about working in athletics is the interaction with the coaches and staff.

“Everyone that I have interacted with has been welcoming and great people to work with,” Stott said. “I have enjoyed being able to further my experiences for my major within the field that I would like to work in for my career.”

Stott also has gained experience through internships with Steel City Media for Mix 93.3 and the technology and communication department for the Park Hill School District, while staying active on campus. She joined Northwest’s Student Activities Council (SAC) and became the concert director and currently is the director of media relations. She also coached with Kip Kittens, a gymnastics program for children at Horace Mann Laboratory School.

As SAC’s concert director, she brought Echosmith, Hunter Hayes and Chase Rice to perform on campus.

“I had to plan every aspect a concert needs, such as picking an artist, putting a bid in for the artist through an agent, get staging from a production company, working with on-campus departments, providing hospitality and managing the concert the day-of,” Stott said. “During the concert day-of, I was the contact for volunteers, University departments and the artist’s manager.”

As media relations director, she was in charge of designing promotional materials for all SAC events and being a point of contact for all media outlets.

“My favorite thing about SAC is getting students involved on campus,” Stott said. “I believe that campus involvement is what college is all about. Planning events for students and seeing the general body grow as leaders is very rewarding.”

Stott believes she’s career ready because of the coursework and experiences she gained during her years at Northwest. She is thankful for the lasting impacts of her instructors and mentors.

“I will always be able to take away things that I've learned at Northwest, whether that's coursework, the organizations I've been involved with or playing softball,” she said. “All those skills can be transferred into the real world.”

Stott plans to return to Kansas City after graduation. She wants to become an event coordinator for a professional sports team or a large concert venue.