In this episode, Makenzie Steele shares her journey and perspective as a previous Division I student-athlete, content creator, and future sports business professional. After graduating from Clemson with a degree in marketing and a minor in accounting, she is now pursuing her MBA in Sports Business at the University of Oregon while serving as a graduate assistant for the GoDucks creative team, creating content for Oregon Athletics. The passion for creating content might have started during covid with her foodie Instagram @goodfoodgoodrun but the opportunity to create content for an athletics department came as a silver lining to an injury that ended her career.

As a former cross country and track athlete at Clemson University, Makenzie shares her experience as a walk-on, her reflection coming back from injuries, and the amazing people she has met along the way (shout out @sydminarik and all the work she is doing). Makenzie offers a unique perspective on the student-athlete experience and the importance of establishing an identity outside of your sport. She has embraced every evolving role she’s stepped into, no matter what it looked like at the time. Her story resonates with athletes navigating uncertainty, questioning their post-grad paths, and finding new ways to stay connected to the sports world, all while remaining authentic both online and offline.

Through her lens, we dive into how setbacks can bring new opportunities for growth and how the lessons learned through sport continue to drive success long after competition ends.

IG: @goodfoodgoodrun