Name: Nick Maiz
Major: Statistics & Sports Journalism
Hometown: Northville, MI
Graduation Year: 2022
How did you choose your major?
Maiz: I chose Statistics because I feel like math was one of my strongest subjects in high school. Initially, when I got to MSU, I thought it would be interesting to see how statistics shapes the world. I wanted to see how statistics are calculated and see if I can apply it to sports — my one true passion.
How did you get into journalism? How are you combining both of your interests?
This is also why I chose to follow the Sports Journalism major as well. I wanted to be able to communicate, and I find writing and telling stories fascinating. Being able to take a deeper dive into the sports worlds is one of my dreams and hopefully, with the path I’m currently on, I can end up doing that. I haven’t yet been able to combine both of my interests yet. However, I am trying to master my skills in both areas to make sure I can set myself up to do whatever task I’m challenged to do or whatever story I want to tell.
What do you want to do with your career in the future?
I’m still exploring the options. I’m very new to journalism and all the opportunities I could have. For now, I’ll say I want to become a writer, beat reporter or analyst of any sport and hope that my experience with numbers plays a large portion in getting that role and keeping that role.
What are some of the things you’re involved in at MSU?
I just recently joined IMPACT radio as well as FLISE this year. COVID limits the number of opportunities I would have in those clubs, but I’m trying to see if I can balance school along with the clubs. If I can prove to myself I can create content regularly, that’ll be a huge step for my experience and bolster my resume.
How has COVID changed your perspective of your college experience?
COVID has been a huge obstacle in my path to my dream career. But the reality of this situation is: I’m not the only one living through it. Everyone has to grind out some accomplishments in a time where nothing in this country seems to be a simple task. As a college student, missing out on many social activities and not seeing friends or making new ones is a shock to my expectation of what college would be like as an upperclassman. I’m probably going to have to make my last two years here my most successful ones under COVID restrictions, and that is stressful to think about.
Tell me about your new podcast, Football vs Football. Why should people listen to it?
During this quarantine, I came up with the idea to create a podcast as another way to put myself out there as a content creator in the sports world. Jordan Yonce is my co-host and we break down what we believe is happening in both the NFL and soccer leagues around the world. We haven’t yet established a true identity for this podcast, but that’s why it’s worth listening to it. Two guys talking about our two favorite sports and basing opinions on facts and data we have on the season. We want to make projections and overreact to events just like we hope our audience does. We also try to make logical statements backing up our takes, but at the end of the day — we made this for fun. It is meant to put our thoughts out there for the world to listen to.
For people who are interested in the field you’re going into, what would you advise them?
For those that are in high school or slightly younger than me that want to go into what I want to, make sure you do your research. Know what path you want to take and figure out what universities give you that opportunity. Make an effort to put your content out there as well, publish stories, and make content!