Brandon Vetromilia: Developing passion for sports into a career
By Anna Vogt
Sept. 08, 2024
Brandon Vetromilia, a senior at Colorado State University, is turning his lifelong love for sports into a career in sports journalism. As graduation approaches, he reflected on the experiences that shaped his path.
Sports played a pivotal role in Vetromilia's life. He played lacrosse and basketball in high school but engaged in sports long before then.
"It's been a huge part of my life ever since I can remember," Vetromilia said. "My parents have pictures of me at four months old snapping this mini football between my legs and trying to put on the big helmets."
Andrew Dong, Vetromilia's roommate and long-time friend, said, "We've known each other for about seven years now. He's always been quite into sports life."
Vetromilia intends to utilize his knowledge and passion for sports in his future career.
"I want to do something like sports media or sports journalism — whether that is with one of the sports teams here: the Rockies, the Avalanche , the Broncos and the Rapids," Vetromilia said. "I'm passionate about the teams here."
He described the sports media industry as competitive. Vetromlilia described the steps he will have to take to kickstart a career in sports media.
"It will entail me starting an intern-level job and learning the ropes, like arena management or ticket sales,” Vetromilia said.
However, he has obtained some guidance from an influential figure — the Denver Bronco's vice president of business, Darren O'Donnell, who has served in his position for 11 years.
"I was at one of the basketball games last winter, and I was actually able to talk to him," Vetromilia said.
Vetromilia expressed that the conversation with O'Donnell gave him essential knowledge about the field. O'Donnell discussed internship opportunities with the Broncos and how to obtain one.
"He wanted to do a similar thing as me and didn't really know where to start. He's been a good advocate," Vetromilia said.