Hello there, Olivia Harlan Dekker! 

After graduating from University of Georgia, Olivia was ESPN'S youngest on-air hire at age 22. She has been a sideline reporter for the network for 5 years- covering college football and basketball and NFL on Westwood One radio. Olivia and her dad, Kevin Harlan, were the first father-daughter duo to call an NFL game on a national broadcast. Olivia is married to professional basketball player, Sam Dekker.

We had such a great time getting to know Olivia as she gave us the behind-the-scenes scoop of being a sports reporter. She details the many steps of her journey, from how her VERY sports oriented family helped influence her career choices to how she leveraged skills from her pageant days to "up" her reporting game. She emphasizes that you have to make your own way in the field, it will never be handed to you. Constant practice, repetition and resilience are the only way to excel. She dishes the surprisingly unglamorous parts of sideline reporting and gives her personal take on being a woman in a male-dominated space. We also touch on how she and her husband balance marriage with such intense travel-oriented careers and why her dad told her to "never marry an athlete" (He's since changed his mind.)

 

We also chat about:

• How she deals with trolls
• Staying grounded while on the road
• How to expand your reel/resume during quarantine
• Dressing for TV!  

Resources:

• Instagram: @oliviaharlandekker, @oliviadekkerstyle 
• Mentioned: Melissa Wood Health,  SkinCeuticals, Revision Skincare