You can usually catch Christopher Cercone standing above the court or off to the side of the field, behind a camera, watching each Suffolk athletics game unfold.
This 19-year-old freshman from Salem, Massachusetts, thoroughly enjoys taping game footage as part of a work-study program for the university. He works very hard to procure game footage for the coaches and players.
“I did a lot of videotaping of athletics in high school. It’s something I really like to do; and I’m a media major,” says Cercone. “I’m also a sports fan so, the two things came together really well.”
Cercone did not waste any time getting involved. He sent Athletic Director Jim Nelson a quick email this summer, before his first semester in college had even commenced, inquiring about possibly doing behind-the-scenes camera work for the department. When Nelson responded in the affirmative, this Salem-native jumped at the opportunity.
So far, he has done work the fall, winter and spring sports teams. And while Nelson serves as a liaison-type between himself and the coaches, everyone knows who he is and what he is doing for them each game.
“It’s largely just me doing the videotaping. There are a couple other kids, but they’re just kind of like backups,” he explains. “It’s just kind of me being by myself, [and] sometimes the workload is real heavy, and I’m doing a bunch of stuff.”
“I mean it’s kind of like off and on. [And] because it’s largely just me, some of the things that the coaching staffs might want, they can’t necessarily get because I might be busy.”
Being someone who enjoys media and communication studies, Suffolk has proven to be a good place for him to harvest his talents and aspirations. He spoke about location being a big reason for coming to the city to study. He then lauded the school’s environmental practices, which served as an important staple in his decision to come to Suffolk.
“I’m a very environmentally friendly person. So when I saw all the [recycling] stuff all over campus, and I knew the university was going green, that really appealed to me,” he explains. “That was a big reason why I chose to come here in the first place. It’s really kind of a big deal to me.”
Doing this work is also a great opportunity for him to figure out what he wants to do after school. While many students flinch at the idea of getting involved and doing school-related activities, Cercone is working hard to create connections.
“I kind of want to work in sports media, [but] I don’t know exactly what,” he says. “There’s always video stuff at colleges or what not. I think that would be something really cool to do. [I’d enjoy] even working for, say, a news network and their sports program, something like that.”
While gaining valuable experience and being an integral component to the athletics department is important, he is striving for something more. And, so far, he has found it in bunches.
“Even beyond the experience [are] the people I’ve gotten to know. Between the coaching staff and the student athletes, and other guys in the media department, I’ve gotten to know some really cool people,” he says appreciatively. “And I think that’s something way more important to me than experience. Just being able to build relationships with people through something I love doing [is important].
He may not be the most noticeable figure in the department, but he is an important piece to the puzzle, and he is just getting started.
