Moore Impact: The Darla Moore School of Business Podcast

Business of the Game

Episode Summary

On Thursday, February 6, 2025, the Moore School will host Business of the Game at Williams Brice Stadium in part to introduce a number of Moore School student athletes to potential employers. The event was previewed in this episode of Moore Impact when panelists Lisa Burgess and Briana Reckling talked about the skills they learned in competition that have helped them in their business careers.

Episode Notes

S2 E3 Athletes Share what Sports taught them about business

On Thursday, February 6, 2025, the Moore School will host Business of the Game at Williams Brice Stadium in part to introduce a number of Moore School student athletes to potential employers. The organizing committee included a who’s-who of Gamecock athletics including Grayson Greiner, baseball, class of 2015, and Ryan Succop, football, class of 2009. The event was previewed in this episode of Moore Impact when panelists Lisa Burgess and Briana Reckling talked about the skills they learned in competition that have helped them in their business careers. 

Topics include:

To learn more about Business of the Game click here.

To learn more about the Moore School’s Alumni network click here.

To learn more about the Moore School of Business click here.

Photo credit: Gamecock Athletics link here

Episode Transcription

Kasie Whitener (00:04):

Good morning, welcome into Moore Impact. My name is Kasie Whitener and I'm the host of our Moore Impact show. The purpose of our program here on Tuesday mornings is to bring the Moore School of Business a little closer to our Columbia community. And hopefully our listeners are glad to hear from the alum that I have in the room today. With me in the room, Lisa Williams Burgess, class of 99 NBA and oh one and a basketball player. Welcome, Lisa. Good morning. And so I, you said Burgess is your married name, correct. So we wanna make sure we get Williams in there too, so if people remember you playing basketball. That's right. Alright, good stuff. And Brianna Reckling, class of 22 and a track and field athlete at the University of South Carolina. Yes, good morning. All right. I'm in a room full of Gamecocks, which as my listeners know, I'm a Clemson grad. So you guys are, I, I did not get the opportunity to cheer for you while you were in school because that would not have been the thing. But now I'm teaching at the University of South Carolina in the Moore School, and at least twice a month it's go Cocks, right? On paydays every, so we're good to go. ,

Lisa Burgess (01:00):

You look good in Garnet, doctor.

Kasie Whitener (01:01):

Well, at that Look, I'm wearing red. This isn't Garnet, , .

Briana Reckling (01:05):

It's not orange. So it's a win.

Kasie Whitener (01:06):

Well, there you go. It's not orange. Well, welcome in. I'm glad to hear from both of you. I'm glad you're here. And you're here to promote a, a program that's happening on Thursday evening, and we're gonna give some more details about that. But this is an alum pro, an alumni program focused on the business of sports and how sports has led you into your business, careers that you currently have. So let's start with you, Lisa. Tell us a little bit about your current business career and how did you get here? Give us your journey. Sure.

Lisa Burgess (01:29):

So I'm with Regions Bank and the commercial bank. So I'm a commercial banker. I've been in banking since let's see, 2001. So I got kind of the old head going on in the room here, . But I grew up in Indiana and you know, the basketball state, and I think the, we were talking about this earlier, Bri, that I, we had joined the SEC maybe three years prior. And so it was, it was pretty exciting to come join a school that was just, you know, joining the big mega conference, right?

Kasie Whitener (02:05):

Brand new to the SEC brand,

Lisa Burgess (02:06):

New to the SEC. And so I, I thought I was gonna be a biology major. I wanted to be a pediatrician. And then basketball and biology don't go well for me. , right? Like, and so I transitioned into the business school and I didn't look back. I had some really great mentors, Dr. Susie Van Huss, who was our NCAA rep, was, was always an advocate for us as athletes. And so I just started my journey that way. And then through it all, at the end of being a student, an athlete, I had to be just a student or a worker, right? So I, I chose the student path and went to the Moore School for my MBA and it was, it was a great transition to where I'm at today.

Kasie Whitener (02:54):

So I love that you stayed in Columbia after, so you moved from Indiana. Here you come as an out of state student and did you just fall in love with Columbia and want to be here and have your family here and all these things?

Lisa Burgess (03:04):

No, I left I, I moved to Charlotte for my first job and then I moved around. So I've been in Wilmington, I've been in Detroit, Michigan. I remembered that I did not like the snow and so I at that point I was engaged, moved back to Winston-Salem with Wachovia Bank and had started my career there. I had ended up 17 years and then jobs opened up. I had kids. It was easier to come back to Columbia and manage you know, a, a pretty full plate of a career and then two young kids. So it's been a great, a great reason to come, you know, raise my children, be part of the school, watch Dawn Staley grow the program from where my two little ones were out there doing the, the cocky, you know, the the chicken dance, right. And my 14-year-old is still mad that she can't go out on center floor and do the, the chicken dance anymore.

Kasie Whitener (03:58):

. You're like, sorry, 14-year-old. Yeah, it's only for the little kids. I gotcha. That's good stuff. So now let, let me transition really quickly 'cause I do wanna talk about the business piece of this, and I do wanna talk about the skills that you learn on the basketball court that turn into business skills and managerial skills and a long career with, I remember Wachovia, by the way, and you're not the oldest one in the room. I graduated in 99 undergrad as well, so we were, you know, I was just up the hill a little bit at a different school, but yeah. So alright, so I wanna talk to Brianna. So Bri, you are class of 22 mm-hmm . Track and field athlete. Yep. Did you, what drew you to the University of South Carolina?

Briana Reckling (04:35):

Yeah, so I'm originally from New Jersey and I grew up with four older brothers, so very sports related, you know, family and University of South Carolina was actually one of the last schools I was looking at. I was looking at a couple of schools like Virginia Tech we were talking about a little bit earlier Georgetown, Howard University, a couple of schools that were not too far away from home. And University of South Carolina, like I said, was the last school I was looking at. And I remember I reached out to my former coach, coach Alden, and I said, Hey, like, I'm interested in your program. Would like to see if I can come in for a visit. And he scheduled me for a visit, I believe it was April of my senior year. So as, you know, like everyone's committing. And like April, I graduated in like a month or two.

Briana Reckling (05:16):

That's pretty late. That's pretty late. So I was a little bit nervous and I came to campus and I fell in love. Like just, it just felt like home. It was beautiful. I, you know, I visited the academic center, which is now known as Doty and just athletic village campus, the business school, everything just seemed perfect. And on the way home I told my parents, I said, I'm committing to the University of South Carolina. And they were pretty nervous about that because, you know, South Carolina to Jersey, it's about a 13 or 14 hour drive. None of my family has really migrated to the south. So it was really new for me. However, I knew that this was the perfect program and place for me to develop my academic skills as well as my athletic skills and just professionalism you know, with majoring in business.

Briana Reckling (06:01):

So yeah, I chose University of South Carolina and all four years I was focused on primarily being a student athlete. However, during my collegiate career, I experienced a lot of injuries and setbacks. And as you know, with injuries and collegiate sports, that takes a toll on your confidence. So when I was out during the season or I couldn't practice, or I couldn't compete in certain meets, I took advantage of just getting more involved with the University of South Carolina. So in the Moore School, I became president of the Black Business Student Association to just get more involved with what was going on with the students, you know, questions they may have had, you know, preparing for life after college. I also got involved in, in Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa. I pledged a sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. I was all over the place.

Briana Reckling (06:48):

I was just trying to figure out what was Plan B if Plan A didn't work and being successful in track and field. So with all that being said I then, by the time senior year came around as you know Darla Moore School of Business, they have a career expo or business expo every fall and spring. And when the fall came around, Smith and Nephew, the company I work for now, was there recruiting students. And I remember Beth Renninger, she's one of the sales professors at USC, love her. She was like, Bri, like, go talk to that recruiter. And I was like, Beth, I don't know. Super nervous. But I went to the recruiter, gave my sales pitch, and, you know, hit it out the park was able to get hired onto Smith and Nephew for a rotational program. So what I got hired for was a total of two and a half year program.

Briana Reckling (07:34):

And for a year and a half I would rotate through different sales and marketing teams up in Boston, Massachusetts for about three months each. So I worked with global marketing, US commercial marketing, sales training, sales operations. Worked on any projects and really basically shadowing the different teams and their positions and what they do. And then I transitioned to field sales for about a year. And that was pretty tough. 'cause I am in the OR every day working with surgeons, as you can see, I'm in scrubs, right? And assisting them with sports medicine related surgeries. So anything starting with your foot all the way up to your, your shoulder for rotator cuff. So yeah, so now I'm a field sales representative. And I absolutely love what I do. It's, it's pretty tough because you have to, you have to be ready, you have to be prepared, you have to perform under pressure, as you guys know being a student athlete, that's something that we do. So I've been able to translate some of those skills that I've learned being a student athlete at USC into medical device sales.

Kasie Whitener (08:34):

We are gonna unpack that completely on the other side of the break. I've got Lisa, I've got Brianna, and we are talking sports and business. We'll be right back.

Kasie Whitener (08:45):

Welcome back to More Impact. I'm Kasie Whitener, your host, and with me in the studio, Lisa Burgess, class of 99 and Bri Reckling, class of 22. We are talking about being student athletes and how the skills that you're learning in your athletic pursuits translate into your current business career. So Lisa was telling us you're now working with Regions Bank. If you think about your banking career, right, some, what are some of these managerial tasks that you had to undertake some of this strategic thinking you had to do? Do, does any of that feel like basketball prepared you for that?

Lisa Burgess (09:16):

Oh, absolutely. I think every day is you know, a planning session on who you're gonna play. So the idea of time management understanding your competitors, understanding how to prioritize what needs to be accomplished that day. All of those things are super important as you enter, you know, your first job. I've, I've gone back and I've mentored some of our student athletes because there is a huge transition between you have, you have a coach telling you what you're supposed to do. You got a sports you know, a strength and conditioning coach, you've got a nutritionist, and then all of a sudden you have to walk away and apply that. And I think the business school prepares you very well around how you work with teams, how you break down some of the case studies and start to apply all those skill sets so that you can be successful at, at that first job and transition. Well because I always said like the student athlete has a cadence that is pretty intense and it's not always easily it's easily applied at, at a work setting, but learning how to adjust and temper it and then manage your, your day to day, I feel like the business school prepared us well to be able to, to do that transition.

Kasie Whitener (10:40):

I think I saw Bri nodding too on this because you mentioned the coach and the strength and training. So you've got somebody who's kind of prescribing this is what you're gonna do day in and day out. Yeah. So then figuring out like, what are those daily tasks and how do I organize myself? How do I make sure I'm managing the time available to me in the best possible way? Talk a little bit about that. Like was that a transition for you going over to Smith and Nephew? Yeah,

Briana Reckling (11:00):

That was actually pretty difficult. You know, like when you're a student athlete in undergrad, like you mentioned, you have the nutritionist, your strength and conditioning, you have coaches kind of like telling you what to do and where to be. And when you graduate, it's just like all of that stops like out of nowhere and you're not doing your sport anymore. You're, you're going into the workforce. And for me personally, that was tough because I've been running track and field since the age of seven. So all I knew was being an athlete and going to school, and then when you go to work, it's like, oh, I don't have 6:00 AM practice or I don't have weights after class. And for me, that was, that was pretty difficult. 'cause Just trying to figure out this new chapter in life and, and figure it out by myself, especially in Boston.

Briana Reckling (11:38):

I mean, I was near family, but you're on your own. You're figuring things out. You're an adult now. So for me that was pretty challenging. So I just decided to network with some of my coworkers and the teams that I was working with and saying, Hey, like, what do you guys do after work? You know, is there, is there a happy hour that I can go to with you guys and start building those new relationships as you embark on this new chapter in your life? Which has helped me a lot. And I just started doing other extracurricular activities. You know, I was running, you know, for in my free time for about a mile, and here I am sweating, trying to run a certain mile at a time. And I'm like, girl, you don't have a race coming up.

Kasie Whitener (12:15):

Relax, . That's right. But you got plenty of time. Plenty, plenty time. You can run this mile in like eight minutes, you'll be fine. Exactly.

Briana Reckling (12:21):

Exactly. But being, being a student athlete and transitioning into the workforce it, especially with medical devices and medical device sales, I've learned to really become a student of the game. I'm working with sports medicine surgeons with so many different backgrounds and experience, and you have to work hard and play hard. Unfortunately, that's just the way of the game and how sales is, and I'm learning that right now. But my confidence and my resilience that I've, I've learned and grown or built over my collegiate career with, with track and field has definitely translated well over to sales and, and, and working with Smith and Nephew.

Kasie Whitener (12:54):

I tell my students all the time, like, you will never, for the rest of your life be surrounded by more people who want you to succeed than you are right now on campus at the University of South Carolina. Mm-Hmm . Everybody here wants success for you. Yes. Your coaches, your faculty members, your teammates, everybody is rooting for you. Mm-Hmm . And so it must feel like dropping off a cliff to show up somewhere. Like you said you went first to Michigan, is that right?

Lisa Burgess (13:21):

North Charlotte. Oh,

Kasie Whitener (13:22):

To Charlotte, right. So you go to Charlotte, you go to Boston, and then it's kind of, I'm here. What do I do? Where is everybody? Why are they not cheering me on the way they were? Did you leverage at all? Did have either one of you leveraged the South Carolina Alumni network and reached out to other Carolina Gamecocks in the, in the area that you were living in?

Lisa Burgess (13:39):

I absolutely did. You know, Charlotte wasn't that far. So I had some other of my MBA peers up there, and that helped. But as I moved to Michigan and I worked at GMAC at the time, there was there a transition needed to be made. And so I did reach out to the business school and was actually Joel Smith, who connected me from his banking days with Wachovia. And so again, when we're athletes, you know, you get recruited and then you become the recruiter. And so that skill set alone really helps you to be able to network and ask for help or figure out who do I need to go maybe help me get recruited again, right? Mm-Hmm. And that helped me transition and that's helped me in recent years as I've you know, I'm no longer with, with an institution that I was with for 17 years, right?

Kasie Whitener (14:34):

Mm-Hmm . And so Bri, when you got to Boston, did you think about leveraging that Gamecock network?

Briana Reckling (14:39):

Honestly, I did not. , you know, I, now that I think about it, I wish I did. But I did have a former teammate, David Olds who lived in Boston as well. So we did connect and, and, and talk frequently. But now that I'm a little bit based in Columbia and working with surgeons, I have been getting a little bit more involved with the Moore School. So I'm working on the Black Alumni Alliance now. I'm talking with Beth Renninger and her, couple of her students helping mentor them. I was a part of the mentor program. So now I'm trying to utilize that Gamecock network network that has been built over the years. And as much as I would've loved to do that when I first came out of college, I think I was just trying to figure it out all on my, all on my own. Yeah. I guess just that my, my way of doing things. But here I am now, I'm ready to get back involved with the Moore School, and I think I have a lot more to offer. Now.

Kasie Whitener (15:28):

I tell my students that too. I say, whenever, wherever you land, the very first thing you should do is look up the University of South Carolina's alumni Yes. Group. And it's easier during football season. Mm-Hmm . 'cause You can find wherever the Gamecocks are getting together to watch the the game, right? Yes. And so you can say, Hey, is there a watch party at, you know, somewhere here, if you're in St. Louis, if you're in Chicago, if you're in, you know, Omaha, wherever you happen to be, like, look up and see where are the other Gamecocks watching the football game? And then I can get to that place and I can watch with them. And we did that when we left undergrad, we were up in Charlotte and we had gone to Charlotte with a bunch of our friends, so we were just kind of hanging around with them, but they all reached into the network and they, and so we were ending up at these huge watch parties where we thought we were just seeing our two or three friends, and we'd walk in and the whole place is orange.

Kasie Whitener (16:11):

You know what I mean? Mm-Hmm . You're like, what are we doing here? Like, Charlie? And I had no idea that that's what we were getting involved with, you know, but our friends were smarter than we were, and they reached into that network. But I think that business school teaches that too, right? The business school always about and you're in sales now that it's always about finding that rapport, right? Mm-Hmm . Like, what do I have in common with these folks? And the very first thing you have in common when you walk out the door is your alumni relationship is your experience at Carolina. Mm-Hmm . And so leveraging that should be like the, the most basic piece, right? Like, and you know, when you go to somewhere else and you're from Indiana, you go, Hey, I'm from Indiana. Somebody goes, me too, right? You're like, look at that. We had this in common. Or I'm from New Jersey, right? Mm-Hmm . And so I think those kinds of root pieces to build relationships outside, you know, on, on top of that, that's kind of a business school skill that we teach inside. Both of you mentioned at different times, professors. So I'm gonna start with Bri. 'cause You mentioned Beth and I love Beth. She's one of my pals, . Are there some folks that you felt like really were responsible for shaping that path, that trajectory? Like how did that relationship emerge?

Briana Reckling (17:09):

Honestly, I think I just signed up for a, a sales class, I think my junior year. And I found out that Beth was teaching that class, had no idea who she was. And during this time, COVID had, was dwindling down a little bit, what everything

Kasie Whitener (17:22):

Was. Oh, right. You were there during Covid?

Briana Reckling (17:23):

I was there during Covid, yeah. 2020. I

Kasie Whitener (17:24):

Didn't even think about that.

Briana Reckling (17:25):

Yeah. So in 2021, I believe that's when I took her class. I think that was my spring junior year. And I met her and she was just different. She was just so bubbly and exciting, and she just, you could just tell the passion she had for helping her students succeed. And I absolutely hated sales. I didn't want anything to do with it. I was just a marketing girly. I didn't want to be involved with anything with selling a product. And Beth just made it a lot easier. You know, she was understanding, she was helpful. And ever since then, she's just been in my corner and she's still in my corner till this day. I, I catch up with her as much as possible, whether that's through LinkedIn or whether that's talking to some of her students at the business expo. She has been someone that has been super, super helpful in my corner with my development, whether it's in personal life, professional life. She, she has just been super supportive. And just having that connect with someone in the Moore School wanted me to help or get more involved with the Moore School, even after graduation.

Kasie Whitener (18:24):

Yeah. She was a Poets and Quants professor of the year for a reason. Yes. She's absolutely got, she's amazing. She's got that skillset and makes sales approachable. Yes. Which is what a lot of my students tell me after they've spent time with Beth, is like, I really didn't want be in sales, but she made me, she helped me understand, understand, mm-hmm . How to do it in a way that fits me and fits my personality. And now I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be. Mm-Hmm . Did you have any university instructors that you felt like Lisa really did shape that path for you or shape that direction for you?

Lisa Burgess (18:52):

There's a couple that pick up, you know, like stand out in my mind. But the reality is, is Susan w who, when she, she came in my junior year, she had a business sense to herself also, and she created a women's mentor group. And that's, that probably was the most impactful part because she connected me to Mary Kiner, Jen Middlebrooks, other strong, you know, women in the market that could help you find that next job. But then, you know, inside, inside the business school, and it was probably more in my MBA that I really utilized the resources with within it. You know, the career center, Libby was great. They just had resources to help us learn how to interview mm-hmm . How to be confident. Mm-Hmm . I myself also didn't want to be in sales. And that's where I'm at today. I'm more of a process operations person. So the resources that the school had to help you transition and understand how you use all of the skills was super impactful. But like Dr. Bearden was probably my favorite marketing, and I don't think he's teaching anymore. I don't know. I don't even think Dr. Niehouse is probably the, the sole professor that's still teaching that, that IS

Kasie Whitener (20:10):

Still hanging around, still hanging around . So you're listening currently to More Impact, those of you who are just tuning in. And I just wanna kind of let you know why we're here. So I've got Brie and Lisa here. We're talking about this event that's coming up on Thursday called Business of the Game. It's February 6th. It's from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM It's gonna be at the Zone at Williams Brice Stadium. And it's going to be a panel of former student athletes who graduated from the university through the business school. And they're gonna be talking about how those skills that they learned on the field helped them to transition into good solid careers off the field. So looking forward to that. There's a whole committee full of alumni who put this together. I started naming some of these names to Keven earlier. It was Banks Halloran from swimming, Lauren Martin from Cheerleading. Of course Ryan Succop from football, Tommy Suggs, and football, like, just a lot of these names that are here that we're excited about getting to be part of this event coming up on Thursday. And the two of you will also be part of it. So, on the other side of the break, we're gonna talk more with Brie and Lisa about their experience at the Moore School, but also about this event coming up on Thursday. You're listening to Moore Impact, don't go away,

Kasie Whitener (21:26):

Back into More Impact. This is Kasie Whitener. I'm your host of the show. Got Bri and Lisa with me, both of whom were former student athletes. And as we were talking off air about whether or not we could, you know, sort of call back to our undergraduate days and what that undergraduate degree was really like, it feels like it goes by in a blur. And I imagine for a student athlete, it's even more of a blur because you are so focused on what you're doing on the athletic side of the program. So if you can think about some of those skills for athletes, and we talked a little bit about this before, like how that translates into your business career. What's been the most challenging thing for you, Lisa, in your career that you've had to navigate from? I mean, it's, when you think of you've made the transition from Michigan to come back down to the South, like there were some parts of your career where you had a, just a really tough experience. Can you share one of those and talk a little bit about maybe where those skills kind of helped you or whether or not you were prepared to be able to, or maybe you weren't, like, maybe it was like, wow, I wish they had taught me this at the business school. .

Lisa Burgess (22:22):

I think when you get into a leadership role and you're managing people who have personal lives that don't always fit the eight to five and how people view each other that was probably one of my it's probably one of the harder things to do because you've got, everybody's got a goal, right? Like we got the, the high goal, but their, their personal goals are different than, you know, a basketball goal, right? Right. Like, the goal is to win and it is all to get better, but there's, there's other things. So I would say you know, between sports and then also the business school, being able to navigate where people are and how to collectively be focused on what, what the team's goal is. Mm-Hmm . Is really important because you gotta have compassion, you gotta have some grace with people.

Lisa Burgess (23:19):

And you gotta remember that there's other things coming into people's lives. And I do think in sports that happens, like Bri mentioned, injury. Injury, you know, is probably the most mentally difficult thing to overcome because you are defined by your sport. Mm-Hmm . And so learning to transition out of that, I think that also helped become a better manager around people. That they're not defined by their work, they're defined by their family or their goals, right. Or whatever's important to them. And making sure that you connect on that level. And the business school always did a great job of trying to connect. I, I feel like they tried to connect with me on what, what I was outside of being an athlete, right?

Kasie Whitener (24:04):

We think about that as like intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, right? And when you're a high performing athlete, like the two of you are, when you get into that level, that collegiate level of play, these are high performing athletes. These are individuals who are pretty dedicated to what they're doing, and they're not doing it for the extrinsic benefits. It's not for pay and bonuses and that kind of thing. It's not, you know, it's, it's more for the, the drive to win, the drive to get better, you know, to to be part of your team, to be part of something that's bigger than yourself. Like all of those kinds of things. Intrinsic motivation. So then if you get into a career where you're managing or supervising individuals who are very extrinsically motivated, like they are about that pay, they are about that bonus, they are about the promotion piece. And you're kinda like, yeah, but can't you just do it for the passion of the game? You know what I mean? It's like, there's no such thing. Like are there individuals in your team that are like, I'm just here to do the very best I can so my organization will succeed. Mm-Hmm . That's kind of rare. Like mostly your employees are there to do the work so they can get a paycheck. Right. And

Lisa Burgess (24:59):

You have people in different spaces, meaning like different parts of they're, you know, they're dating someone or they're, they're not, you know, like, or they've got a newborn Right. Or they've got a parent to take care of. And, and the population is full of so many different distractions mm-hmm . And as an athlete, you get so focused on minimizing distractions Yes. And navigating around 'em that you know, I've had to temper myself sometimes be like, well, I mean, we don't have to hard charge everything. . Right? I think that that's the, the self-reflection I always have to have is, you know, be mindful of where people are at. Yeah. How, what are their strengths? How do we utilize those the best? And at the end of the day, that's what we do in sports. Mm-Hmm . You just have to, as you grow up beyond sports, realize that's what these coaches were doing. Mm-Hmm .

Kasie Whitener (25:54):

It was, was harnessing your strengths. Yeah. I was like, when you said the thing about the hard charge, I could just remember Bri saying before, like, going out there, running that mile as fast as you possibly could and be like, what am I doing? . Have there been some moments for you too, Bri, where you felt like, Hey, this is, I'm in a game, I'm in a different kind of game now mm-hmm . And the rules are a little bit different. Ha. Have you had some of those moments as well?

Briana Reckling (26:15):

Yes, for sure. Lisa touched on, you know, hitting those injuries during your collegiate career. And me, unfortunately, I experienced a lot of them. And my confidence took a toll on me athletically, academically. And when you graduate, it's like, okay, where am I going to put all of this effort? And in work, I translated that to, okay, I have to be the best, I have to do the best, I have to stay extra and work harder on projects. And it's like, relax, like you're actually doing okay. And with professionalism comes imposter syndrome. I know that's something that's being talked about a lot more nowadays. But when you're an athlete, especially at a high collegiate level, at an SEC school there's a lot of pressure that comes with that. You wanna perform, you wanna do well for your team, for yourself, for your family, for your coaches.

Briana Reckling (27:00):

And when all of that is gone, it's like, okay, who am I really doing this for? Am I doing it for myself? Am I doing it for my coworkers to say, oh, Bri's great at what she does? It's, you're, you're, you kind of lose yourself in the sauce, I would say. And trying to figure out, okay, what, what is, what does my life look like now? What does my career look like now? And how can I be the best banker sales rep, or whatever the case may be, without putting too much pressure on myself. And for me, I'm, I'm still figuring that out right now. I mean, being in sales, it's a, it's a high pressure scenario. I mean, there's a patient on the table and I'm responsible for how well this product works, and if it doesn't go well, but you don't wanna be in the room, you know?

Briana Reckling (27:38):

Right. So, like, for me, I try and take the pressure off myself and say, Hey, like, this is not, you know, it's serious, but this is not the, the, the win winning shot at the end of the basketball game, or the last four by four relay, and you're down by two points to win the championship or anything like that. So for me, it's just taking a step back and knowing this is my career, this is not my entire life. And having those, those, you know, that network of people that can support me outside of, you know, workspaces. Having extracurriculars where, you know, you can blow steam off, you know, have stress relievers is, is super important. But for me, it's, it's definitely still a transition. Trying not to go too, too hard. Like this is a, a track meet or a mile that I'm trying to prepare for.

Kasie Whitener (28:23):

It's so interesting to downshift into that too, right? Mm-Hmm . And like figuring out, and maybe, and Lisa, you've kind of pointed out like it's growing into that, right? So maturing into that place, or maturing into that space. My daughter's at 16 and she just asked me the other day, like, when will I stop? When will I get to the place where I've achieved the thing I need to achieve? And I was like, gosh, I don't know. 'cause I'm 47, I'm still still working for it, you know, like I'm still, I hopefully never, like, hopefully there's always some, you know, other mountain to climb, but it certainly slows down a little bit as you get into your twenties and you're, you're learning your career mm-hmm . So there's this kind of upward hill as you're starting to figure out like, what is this business really like? What is this industry really like? What are my skill sets and how do they match in this industry? Is this even the right one for me? Or should I move over? So Lisa, you're in banking, right? Like at some point are you looking around going, are there, there's multiple layers to this business supervisor, manager, executive, this is where I wanna be, I can see a career path for myself. And then is there always sort of that next climb for you as you're thinking about like, what's gonna be next?

Lisa Burgess (29:22):

There is, you know, you bring up teenagers, so I've got a 17-year-old and almost 15-year-old. So as I've looked at, as I've moved, I've made job changes. Where do I wanna be in four years? Because in four years I'm an empty nester, and what does that look like? Right? And so things change because the demands of me as my mom career are very different. , right. But yeah, so I, I kind of forget what you asked.

Kasie Whitener (29:53):

I was just asking if there was like another hill to,

Lisa Burgess (29:55):

I started thinking about my kids and I got distracted, which is a normal thing, right?

Kasie Whitener (29:58):

That is a hundred percent, hundred percent. Just so I like that you said that, you said it about your mom career though, because that too indicates that there's

Lisa Burgess (30:07):

Oh, yeah. So how does my future look? And so that's, that's kind of how I've, I've managed my career and when my, when my girls were, you know, in diapers and daycare I, I was in the credit role, which was a really great fit for me. I could have been in different, higher, you know, maybe leadership roles. But that's the other thing about sports. I think that helps you as you go through your career we're very in tune with what we are capable of as a student or as an athlete, right? Mm-Hmm . And what we can manage and where your talent is. And so being able to assess that that job might not be the right job because the goal is to succeed. And so sometimes taking, taking on something that's not in my wheelhouse has been very beneficial, right?

Lisa Burgess (30:55):

Mm-Hmm . Like, I'm not a six five center, I've had to post up against some big girls, but that's not where I wanna spend my time working my game. Right? And so that's been, I think that's helpful as I look at the list of you know, the athletes that'll be up there that I've, I've actually, I've, I've probably partnered with quite a few of 'em. They've all done the same thing and you start to figure out what you don't wanna do. Mm-Hmm . Which I think talking to students in general, internships, the purpose of internships is

Kasie Whitener (31:26):

To figure out what you don't wanna do is

Lisa Burgess (31:27):

What you don't wanna do. . And sometimes taking classes that helps you figure out what you don't wanna do. Mm-Hmm . And I think the best part of what I've been able to do in my banking career at every institution is they've allowed me to come back to the Moore School and talk to recruit for interns, and then also talk about like, how do you become a banker? Or why do you wanna become a banker? Right. Things like that.

Kasie Whitener (31:50):

I love the idea that as we are moving through our career, we're constantly looking back on like, what's the right place for me? At what time in my career? What am I able to give at this particular time in my career? So definitely you and I with teenagers have a, a specific capacity. It's probably bigger now than it was when they were really little, right. Having to cart them around to places. I was joking about how my daughter now can drive herself everywhere. So I don't know if you saw my little Mazda Miata out in the driveway, but like, that's me out of the carpool game, right? . And so driving the Mazda. But when we think about like, as you are moving forward, did you see all of that ahead of time? Like, or was it just sort of at the time and you then, 'cause I'm asking like for Bri, really this is not necessarily something you see that you go, oh, well, when I'm married I'm gonna want this. And when I have a kid, I'm gonna want that. And when I'm a, you know, like that's not something we career path, we don't career path your life.

Lisa Burgess (32:43):

It's not, and what you don't career path is loss. Yeah. And, and while I don't think we recognize the value of losing, like as I'm, as my daughters play sports and and my friends' kids do things at this point, I understand how losing helped me manage through some really hard things. Right. Personally and then career wise and disappointment. And it's allowed me to a, be a better mom, navigate that for my kids. Right. But then also navigating that within my career because I've di I think I told you this on the break, like, I thought I was gonna be an athletic director. Mm-Hmm. That's the whole reason I went to the get my MBA, I'd go have a corporate career and come back and like I said, I don't think I'd want that job. Like

Kasie Whitener (33:29):

,

Lisa Burgess (33:31):

It's so different today. Mm-Hmm. Right? Yeah. And so being able to really kind of assess that and then, like I said, you lose in life and it's how you respond. And sports teaches you to respond well. Mm-Hmm .

Kasie Whitener (33:46):

Right? Yeah. I don't disagree with that. And Bri, you mentioned having the injuries, right? Mm-Hmm . What I was really impressed by in that first segment when you were telling your story was when you felt isolated. Mm-Hmm . You, instead of turning in on yourself, you reached out and went and found as many places as you possibly could to connect, which is the great way to respond to isolation. We got one more break. Now we really do just have the one more break. . And on the other side, we're gonna talk a little bit more about this event. It's coming up on Thursday night at the Moore School of Business. This is Moore Impact. Don't go away. All right. Welcome back to Moore Impact. We let that song play just a little extra 'cause it's Metallica and it's fantastic. And all of us are head banging in in the studio.

Lisa Burgess (34:49):

Well, I'm super excited 'cause I'm gonna get a plug for my daughter Courtney. She's going to Virginia Tech.

Kasie Whitener (34:53):

Oh, look at that. She's gonna be a Hokie?

Lisa Burgess (34:54):

Enter Sandman is her. Yeah. We're keeping it in the poultry family. . She's so tired of that

Kasie Whitener (34:59):

Joke. I wasn't gonna say it. . I'm so glad you did . She's so tired of it. At least it's not Clemson. Alright, I'll take that dig. That's fine. All right. So we're talking about the lessons that you've learned in sports and how those lessons translate into your business career, because both of you are Moore School alum, if you're just tuning in. This is more impact and I'm visiting today with with Lisa and Lisa Burgess and Bri Reckling. And we're talking about their experience as student athletes at the University of South Carolina ahead of this event that's happening on February 6th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM It's called Business of the Game. And the business of the Game is, the idea is it's a Moore school alumni event designed to connect our more alumni athletes with other alumni and industry professionals. It includes a networking session with food and drinks, a video from Coach Shane Beamer and a panel discussion with some more school alumni athletes, including both Lisa and Bri.

Kasie Whitener (35:52):

Also Patrick DiMarco from football class of 2011, Grayson Greiner from baseball class of 2015. Ryan Succop from football class of 20 2009. And hosting this event is Tommy Suggs. He of course is a legend around here. He played football back in 1971, so he's gonna be a great host for this. The idea is if you can get over there and, and be part of this event, of course tickets are available. You can go and sign up and be part of it. It is going to hopefully bridge this gap between what we think of as the student athlete experience and then of course the regular alumni experience coming outta the Moore School. And then create some great industry connections for you guys and some of your teammates. And I think I've monologued long enough to give you a chance to think about the question I asked before we came back on the air, which is the most important thing that you learned in sports, whether that's applicable to, and that we kind of did it in the last segment because you said being able to lose well, which I think is a really critical skill and a really critical key to it.

Kasie Whitener (36:46):

But what do you think was the most important thing, Lisa, that you learned by being a basketball player?

Lisa Burgess (36:54):

Boy, the, the, be you know, the one, it's hard to come to one, but I would say showing up every day there's a greater good there's a greater purpose. And so when you're having a bad day, you still have to show up mm-hmm . And so learning how to have resiliency through the hard because adulting is hard. And I think that that's kind of a phrase I use often around. You're learning hard now so that when things really do become hard and you don't have mom and dad there to help, or you don't have your coach to solve the problem for you, you, you can show up and be present. You can ask for help and be resilient and show up. So I think that that's the part about sports that really transcends into why people wanna hire student athletes, which I think is the just one little piece about what you're missing on the business of the game. We have a labor shortage in the market for just about everything and student athletes are always wondering what their next step is. Mm-Hmm . And so I feel like this event too could be a great opportunity for those in the business community that may need to fill some, some gaps in their workforce. Yeah. so I'd love to see people show up, think because we do have student athletes who are ready to enter the workforce. Mm-Hmm

Kasie Whitener (38:19):

. Absolutely. That's a great opportunity for them to network and to maybe find their next candidate. I wanna ask add this other piece to that too though, because you're talking about showing up because I feel like this is, and it's, I'll just put it out there. Parents who's let their kids quit when it gets tough, when they don't get to play, when their when their team loses. Right. When they feel like they're not getting the amount of time on, you know, playtime that they want or whatever it is it when they're, the kid's allowed to just walk away. That it's hard to build resilience if you're continually allowed to quit. Mm-Hmm . Now if you're allowed to fail, right. And then figure out how to fail on, you know, how to fail upward. Right. How do I get better forward on other side fail forward?

Kasie Whitener (38:58):

Exactly. Mm-hmm . Like, I think that's a, a specific skill, but the idea of just like, oh, you don't wanna do this anymore, that's fine. I'm tired of taking you anyway. You know what I mean? Like, I'm tired of listening to you complain about it. My daughter, I, I mentioned her before, but she, she swam during Covid, right? Mm-Hmm . Because she was homeschooled and so there was no social interaction at all. And every single day when I took her to the pool, she complained and she didn't wanna do it. She still to this day hates everything about that swim experience,

Lisa Burgess (39:23):

But you know what I mean, it's swimming, it's hard. It

Kasie Whitener (39:25):

Is. I get it. But I'm a swim, I'm a swimmer. So for me, I was like, yeah, this is like, what are you complaining about? But anyway, all that to say like then when she experienced a really big setback in marching band this year in band this year, she was able to go, you know what? That's just how things are and I'm just gonna have to be better on the other side of it, that resilience didn't magically appear over the last couple years in band. It started when she was a swimmer and she was having to get up and go to those, those campuses,

Lisa Burgess (39:50):

You can't carry your kids' water. Right? Like the hard work comes from them doing it. So when it's heavy, they've got your job to help them carry the heavy, right? Yes. But sports requires you to do that. And when you leave high school and come to a super, super competitive environment where every team is winning, so not only are you wanting to beat the other teams across mm-hmm . Across the court from you, you wanna do better than track and field. Yeah. I mean, coach Fry was winning national titles and you're like, man, I want a piece of that. So and you don't have your mom and dad to like say, it's okay if you don't go to class. It's okay if you skip practice. Right. I'll call the coach. So if you don't start that early mm-hmm . And that's the same thing in business school, right? Like we've, I've, I've brought in some interns that they didn't know the first thing about asking how do I go about my job? Because they've just been told how to do it. Right. And the, the trees were chopped down for 'em. Like they gotta chop their own wood, carry their own water.

Kasie Whitener (40:53):

Yeah, I hear you. That's me and you. I'm like, gen X fist pump over here. Good job, . I

Lisa Burgess (40:58):

Know, right? I was the youngest of seven. Nobody was helping me.

Kasie Whitener (41:02):

Alright, so the, again, one more time. This event here coming up on Thursday before we get to break and, and then I wanna hit final thoughts for Bri. 'cause I did ask you too mm-hmm . The big thing that you learned. Business of the game February 6th from six to 8:00 PM at the Zone, at the Williams Brice Stadium. And I think it's a critical opportunity for our business owners locally in town. If you haven't thought about doing it Thursday night, go out there and try to meet some of these student athletes that will be on the marketplace and looking for careers. And hopefully you'll employ them here in Columbia and we can keep them here. Bri, the biggest thing you learned in sports and, and how it translates into the rest of your life.

Briana Reckling (41:36):

So relating to Lisa, I think resilience was on my mind as well, but also believing in yourself. That's huge in whatever you do, whether it's sports, your career, or just anything in life. And for me, during my collegiate career, just so many different mental setbacks and just roadblocks. And it's like, I think by the time my senior year approached by with Track and Field, I was over it. Like, I was like, I just wanna graduate. You know, I'm, I'm done with this. And going into the workforce and now being in sales, I mean, you have to believe in yourself. You have to be able to take those losses or even lessons and say, all right, like, that's it. You might cry in the car on your way home, but you have to be able to brush it off and get ready for the next case with, with 15 minutes or 20 minutes and act like nothing happened.

Briana Reckling (42:20):

And it's, it's showing up every day. Like you said, you have to, you have to be the best you can each and every day, like 1% better. And the things that I've learned as a student athlete, whether it's hard work, being an overachiever, looking over extra film or doing extra drills to be that better runner or basketball player, whatever the case may be, you know, it it, it ends up working out perfectly. You know, you put in the hard work and you believe in yourself, you use your network. You, you look for mentors. I have a span of mentors, whether it's from the Moore School like Beth or mentors from Smith and Nephew or even outside of that, that help me in my journey with, with careers and sales. And I think just believing in yourself will go a long way because your coaches can believe in you, your mentors can believe in you, but if you don't believe in yourself, then you're not gonna be able to put your best foot forward. So I think that's the biggest thing for me.

Kasie Whitener (43:10):

I love that you mentioned the mentoring because Lisa, you brought that up too about having the opportunity to mentor some students at the Moore School. And we actually did an episode with the alumni office that was coordinating that mentorship network. This is something that the Moore School can be really proud of, is our, our vast mentoring network and all of the alum like yourselves who are willing to come and talk to the young people who are currently going through what you've been through, and then to give that expertise and to give that support and that guidance. I just thank you both so much for being part of that. Certainly for being part of this event on Thursday. I know that Bo Hart worked really hard, that office, whole office worked really hard to pull this together on Thursday. It's gonna be a really good time.

Lisa Burgess (43:47):

Yeah. I'm excited for it.

Kasie Whitener (43:48):

I think he's, you think they'll be cheering and, and fight song playing and things like that

Lisa Burgess (43:52):

You might hear a little, you know, Game

Briana Reckling (43:55):

Cocks,

Kasie Whitener (43:55):

There'll be a little bit of that co Yeah. . There'll probably be a little bit of that. We heard that at graduation as a matter of fact. Yeah. So that shows up everywhere. Think speaking of school spirit. So as you think back on what the University of South Carolina has done for you, you're now both in a position to do back for the University of South Carolina. What are some ways you think you'd like to be involved moving forward? Of course this upcoming event and the mentoring piece. Are there, are there things that you've got in mind that you think you'd like to see the more school do that maybe we could get on on Dean Verma's radar?

Lisa Burgess (44:24):

I feel like I've been able to do a good job of bringing our career placement capabilities to the institutions I go and work for. We've got, regardless of the athlete piece, the students at the Moore School, in my opinion, grind a little harder than some of the top tiered you know, schools. And we've got, you know, a great reputation. But I find that the, the South Carolina kids work a little harder. And they have a cadence to where they want to go. And so I've been trying, I I always try to work to, to hire them or as I've mentored, used my network, whether it be from a student athlete perspective or just because what I do in commercial banking, I touch so many industries to partner their them with someone say, Hey, you can call this person. You can learn more about the industry. Mm-Hmm . And every time I speak and come back, like with the finance scholars or the BPF, if a student comes up to me and I always tell people, find me on LinkedIn, shoot me a note, I will respond, I will give you my email and when it, and if you take the time to get on my calendar, I'll give you 30 minutes. I won't set the appointment, but if you're willing to set the appointment with me, then I'll give you 30 minutes and give you some feedback.

Kasie Whitener (45:52):

That's fantastic. Thank you both so much for giving back to the Moore School for giving of yourselves for this event on Thursday night. I'm appreciative to both of you. This has been Moore Impact. When you learn more, you know more, when you know more, you do more. Thanks for listening.