Jessica Brougham, M.S. ’21, came to the United States from New Zealand as a recruited international student-athlete to compete as a Division I rower for Washington State University. Initially a criminal justice and criminology major; her plan soon shifted course.
During her time at WSU, the football team’s quarterback, Tyler Hilinski, died by suicide. “His passing had a great impact on our athletics department, as well as the greater community,” Brougham explained.
“Following his passing, I was talking with an individual on the football team who shared with me some of the direct messages that they receive from both fans of the program and other programs, and I was truly shocked,” she said. “These players are told that they should have their scholarships removed, are bad at their sport, and associated with some of the more difficult losses—these athletes are told that they should kill themselves.”
In the meantime, Brougham decided that her interest in the classroom was shifting to sports law, and a degree in sport management would help her achieve that goal. She fell in love with the program at Illinois State University, housed within the School of Kinesiology and Recreation.
“Much of my love for the program was due to the great professors. For example, Dr. Liz Sattler is an incredibly caring and thoughtful professor that puts the needs of the students first,” Brougham shared.
Brougham’s time at ISU included the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant in the Student-Athlete Academics and Life Skills Department. “This was a fantastic opportunity, as I was supported in my own academics and research by their fantastic staff,” she said. “I would strongly encourage anyone interested in attending ISU for graduate school to look up the awesome opportunities available on campus to get work experience while you learn.”
In her first semester at ISU, Brougham met with her advisor to discuss doing a thesis project on the impact of social media on the mental health of student-athletes. “The goal of the research was to be impactful by gathering information that would assist both student-athletes and athletic departments in their processes to protect student-athletes from these dangers.”
Brougham’s research was recognized nationally, as she received runner-up in the graduate student paper category from the North American Society for Sport Management. She was also awarded second-place paper of the year by the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics.
Broughman’s time at ISU led her to realize how much she enjoys research, and she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Florida in the Department of Sport Management, housed in the College of Health and Human Performance. Her goal is to ensure that her research makes a difference by impacting the experiences of athletes.
“I am still researching athlete well-being; however, I am a little broader in my exploration by looking into identity transition and holistic athlete development programming,” said Brougham.
She is currently investigating the experiences of international student-athletes and how to better serve that population. Broughman is also working on some projects related to student-athlete’s voices and using social media to combat restrictions in place by organizations.
“The projects that I do have meaning to me,” Broughman said. “While I could conduct research on lots of different avenues of athlete mental health and well-being, I am specific in the ones I go through with because I want to make sure that the projects I do are well executed and can be impactful on the target population.”
Broughman concluded, “I will always be grateful for the opportunities and support that ISU provides its students.”
