Chris Cassar

Current Position: Lumify Account Manager at Philips

Story Last Updated: Summer 2024

My degree from Gwynedd Mercy University helped me land my first job in marketing right out of college. The professors I had during my time at GMercyU taught me a lot about the business world and that really helped me focus on what career path I wanted to follow.

I chose Gwynedd Mercy University because I believed in the values that the university stood for. I went to both a Catholic elementary school and high school and wanted to further my education at a Catholic university. What impressed me most about GMercyU was their dedication to academic excellence and the smaller class sizes.

Growing up, I was always very passionate about sports. However, I never considered a job in sports until I started my education journey at GMercyU. Here, I was given the opportunity to take classes in sports marketing, sports law, and sports business. It's where my dream of working in the sports industry began to grow. The classes I took taught me about the jobs outside of just playing and coaching. I never really thought about the business side of sports until then.

During my time at GMercyU, I worked for residence life my sophomore year through senior year. Through those years I became very close with the entire staff, many who are still there. Everyone really prepared me for what to expect after college. There wasn’t a day that I wouldn’t go to work and just enjoy my time. They really made some of those days during finals less stressful and we had a lot of great laughs and ideas.

Throughout my collegiate years, I worked at a local credit union as a part-time teller. After graduating, I was promoted to Marketing Coordinator of the credit union. Once I was able to gain more experience, I wanted to look for something different and to work for a big, recognizable company.

I still had a desire to get into the sports industry so I applied for a job with the Philadelphia Eagles and was offered a position as a Premium Sales Representative. This was a big move for me because it was only a seasonal position but this was an opportunity to follow my dream and work for an NFL organization. I discussed this move with my wife and with her support, I took the job. After my time with the Eagles was complete, this opened many opportunities for me with big companies in Philadelphia.

I decided to expand my experience and further my career with a third party consumer electronics and appliance supplier in Northeast Philadelphia, ALMO Corporation. I was able to still work in sales and broaden my knowledge and experience. However, my dream job was to work once again in the sports industry, primarily with the NFL. Statistically speaking, the odds were against me. There are 32 NFL teams and only 18-20 need sales people and generally speaking there are only about 12 spots per team. I kept my eye out on Teamwork Online, a job posting site for the sports industry.

I applied for a Full-Time Account Executive position with the Tennessee Titans. I eventually went through two rounds of interviews and was offered a position with the team. This was again a big decision for both my wife and I as this would require us to move more than 800 miles away from everything we knew. My wife wanted to support my dream of working in the NFL so on April 30, 2015, I accepted the job as an Account Executive with the Tennessee Titans. This also was the same day the Titans drafted their star quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Some may say this day was a big gain all around for the Titans.

I am now entering my second season with the Titans and it is an exciting time. As a child growing up, I never would have thought I would have a career with an NFL franchise. With the education I received from GMercyU and the support of my family and friends, I’m living my dream of working with the NFL.