The Students
Abigail Ruch
My name is Abigail Ruch, and I’m a Junior pursuing a dual degree through the Sport Management program and the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. I’m extremely passionate about equity for marginalized groups and exploring social justice, particularly for homeless or disadvantaged youth through the avenue of sport and health education. I’m interested in using my writing and public relations experiences to make a lasting impact in the community, whether that be through the private, public, or nonprofit sectors or just in my personal life. I hope this class provides me with the hands-on experience to better my education while also giving me the opportunity to help communities I inhabit for the long term.
Alex Needelman
My name is Alex Needelman, and I am a junior Sport Management major at the University of Michigan. I took this course to gain a better understanding on how the nonprofit industry works, as well as make a real-world difference through the Learning by Giving program. I’m excited to be a part of the nonprofit liaison team where we created a request for proposal (RFP) to send to local nonprofits. The most meaningful aspect of this project was the feeling of the first nonprofits responding to our RFP, excited to send in a proposal, and for the opportunity to receive a grant. I am excited to use my marketing skills and past experiences to choose a nonprofit to receive our $10,000 grant. It is an honor to be apart of a class that is giving meaningful money to an organization that will use the grant to make a positive impact in our local community.
Blake Resnikoff
My name is Blake Resnikoff and I am currently a senior studying Sport Management. I have always had an interest in giving back and got experience with nonprofit work in high school when I started my own charitable program.
My program began with me picking up recycling weekly from houses in my neighborhood and then redeeming it all for cash that would go directly to the City of Hope for Cancer research. After this all just starting with a couple houses around me, I was able to get several corporate offices as weekly clients and was fortunate enough to have my high school implement it into our community service program for students to begin doing. Doing this throughout high school definitely sparked my interest in the nonprofit area to begin with and I am very excited to be able to give back again this semester.
Brandon Handelsman
Hello! My name is Brandon Handelsman, I’m a senior majoring in Sport Management from Los Angeles. As an avid participant, fan, and scholar of sport business, my conviction in athletic’s unique ability to catalyze economic activity and affect change has only grown stronger. I hope to continue to leverage sport’s capacity to do so moving forward professionally. Contributing to the development and establishment of Foundation 313 has proven to be a fun and fulfilling capstone to my academic career at the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology.
Delaney Jodice
My name is Delaney, I am a junior Sport Management major. I work with the University of Michigan Volleyball Team and I am on scholarship with a nonprofit in Michigan (M club of greater detroit). I wanted to take this class to learn more about giving back to other people that could use this type of money that i receive. The most meaningful aspect of this project is that i do not know if i'll ever have another opportunity to participate in a program that gives this amount of money to the community.
Derek Heitman
My name is Derek Heitman and I am a senior studying Sport Management here at Michigan. I took this course because I have loved volunteering in the past, whether with my school or on my own but I really wanted a better understanding of non-profits and what goes into the decision making process of awarding grants. I grew up only 15 miles from Ann Arbor so I am very excited to contribute to my community through this project. For my entire life I have gone to school in the Southeast Michigan area, a community that I love and I cannot wait to make a positive impact in the area that has given me so much.
Emily Haydel
My name is Emily Haydel, I am a senior at the University of Michigan studying Sport Management. My family has had a large involvement with nonprofits, and I am glad to have the opportunity to learn more about how they function. I’m ultimately interested in a career on-air in broadcast journalism post-graduation, but this project has especially peaked my interest as it is something I’ve never done before.
Jake Moyer
My name is Jake Moyer and I am a senior in the sport management program. I was motivated to take this course after having had multiple work experiences in the non profit sector, notably with the University of Michigan Development Office and the Make a Wish Foundation. I can bring some interesting perspectives to the class and learn more about non profits in general. I am looking forward to the challenge of the class coming to agreement on who we will give our fundraising efforts to and how that will impact their organization.
John Kopko
My name is John Kopko and I am a senior from South Lyon, MI. I decided to take this course because I am interested in a career that merges my passion for sport with my drive to make positive change in the community. I believe that sport is a powerful driver of social change, and this course provides an amazing opportunity to learn about giving, while making a meaningful impact in the surrounding community.
Josh Berger
My name is Josh Berger and I am a senior at the University of Michigan pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Sport Management. I decided to take SM 313 because I wanted to learn more about nonprofits, and also to be taught by Dr. Kathy Babiak, one of my favorite professors I have had at U of M. My background in the nonprofit world includes an internship at the Small Business Advocacy Council in Chicago during the summer of 2016.
Megan Betsa
My name is Megan Betsa. I am a senior from Mcdonough, Georgia and I am majoring in sport management. I enrolled in SM 313 because I didn’t know much about the nonprofit sector, but I was interested in learning about it. I enjoy helping others achieve their goals by overcoming tough obstacles. My passion involves youth and sport, which has played into our Learning by Giving project well so far.
Nick Carey
My name is Nick Carey and I am a senior in the Sport Management program. I was interested in this course because it was a class that was very different from my marketing and sales heavy course load in the past. As a local kid (born and raised in the Ann Arbor Area) the impact that this project could have on our local community is the most exciting and intriguing part of this project. Upon graduating, I plan on working at a Sports Marketing agency, helping brands to get involved in sport. I believe that I can bring my past experience in marketing and sales to this class in order to help our class with fundraising and nonprofit relations.
Randi Goode
My name is Randi Goode and I am a senior studying Sport Management. I have been involved with a variety of nonprofit organizations throughout my time at Michigan, and I am looking forward to continuing my involvement in the future. I decided to take this course to learn more about nonprofit management and the overall grant-making process. I look forward to seeing all the great things our class can accomplish.
Shane Morris
Hi my name is Shane and I am a senior sport management major graduating in April. I start graduate school at Central Michigan in May. I play football for the University of Michigan and will be playing at Central Michigan next season. My independent study is involved with My Cleats My Cause, which helps non-profit foundations through the NFL and I thought this would help me understand the non-profit world better. The most meaningful part of this project is that I am given the ability to give money that I wouldn’t be able to give otherwise to help youth and give back to the community.