This is a Jonathan Alder Alumni Spotlight that was featured in the printed Winter 2024 edition of the Pioneer Pages Newsletter. To share your alumni story, click here.
Sydney Hill grew up as the daughter of a former Police Chief in a small Ohio town. Although growth seems to be quickly rising in Plain City, Ohio, it still is a village just north of 4,000 residents. Even her current state of residence, Connecticut, is among the smallest land mass states in the U.S., just over 5,500 square miles. More importantly though, the New England state is home to her current employer, ESPN, the globally known sports entertainment company.
Hill graduated from Jonathan Alder High School in 2017. As a Pioneer, Hill enjoyed her time as a member of choir, drumline, and the production team for school plays, and undoubtedly as a Majorette in the Marching Band. From the turf of Performance Stadium, to the Blue & White “checkered-endzones’’ of Kroger Field at the University of Kentucky, and excitedly the sidelines of Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz., Hill has already reached levels she did not know were possible.
Although she has traveled the country and attended numerous live sporting events, Hill still pays homage to her hometown and the school district that helped guide her to where she is today. In fact, it was at Jonathan Alder High School where the ripple effect began for Hill’s elevation to employment at one of the most well-known and largest sports entertainment companies in the world.
“Part of the reason I decided to go to Kentucky was because of twirling at Alder,” said Hill. “I got the opportunity from Mr. (Justin) Hennig and Mrs. (Nicole) Manring to be a feature twirler. If it were not for them, I don’t think that I would have been able to have the opportunity, especially with my confidence. They gave me belief and support that I could twirl at the collegiate level.”
Hennig knew Hill had a successful future ahead of her stating, “Sydney is an excellent performer and is humble enough to always seek ways to improve. It came as no surprise to hear her tremendous success as a twirler with the University of Kentucky Marching Band.”
“In her visits to the Band as an alumni, I have expressed to the students how proud we are of Sydney and how her goals of performing in front of 61,000 fans are just as attainable to any of our students within the Band program. She has also been kind enough to encourage our students, if they have questions regarding her career, to reach out to her as a resource. We are proud of Sydney and she is an outstanding example of the values we hold in the Jonathan Alder Band Program as well as the Jonathan Alder School Local District.”
“Most twirlers dream of being able to perform on the sidelines in the Southeastern Conference,” added Hill. “I would not have been able to perform as a Wildcat Sweetheart Majorette if it weren’t for my time as a twirler at Alder.”
Heading south to Lexington is where the story of Hill’s professional career began. She decided to enter college as a journalism major behind the influence of Alder High School teacher, Mr. Lance Hughes. According to Hill, his encouragement and motivation led to her learning the skills to eloquently piece together thoughts and ideas into writing. Journalism was just the beginning though. From there, it was a campus job with the SEC Network that sparked Hill’s interest in sports journalism, and eventually sports production.
“I fell in love with it,” said Hill on her experience working with the production team at SEC Network events. “I am so glad that I was not so pinpointed on one thing that I wanted in my career and my future and it opened up so many opportunities.”
Well versed with experiences in all avenues of journalism, public relations, and marketing, it was sports production that continued to reside in Hill’s mind as a potential future career. The opportunity to shadow an ESPN production crew came available during a Wildcat Men’s Basketball game. She got the chance to speak with the on-air talent, Carl Ravech and Jimmy Dikes, and after meeting with Hill and learning about her experiences and goals, they were impressed with her abilities and suggested she apply for ESPN Next, a leadership development program for early-career professionals.
Over 2,000 applicants were hoping to be selected for the 40 spots available. Three interview rounds later, and her discovery of where ESPN’s headquarters were located, Hill was picked as one of the 40 applicants and had three weeks to move to the New England area.
A new opportunity awaited Hill somewhere she had never been or learned much of before accepting the position. Hill began her ESPN career as a production assistant for the “SportsCenter at Night” television program. Nine months later, what Hill calls “one of the best opportunities she has had” came to fruition as she was moved to the company’s international department.
Perplexed by and nervous with the department move, Hill was still determined to take advantage of her situation, “I didn’t really understand why they put me there, wondering if I was not performing well and just confused by it. I decided instead of complaining or feeling miserable, I wanted to make the best of the situation.”
That decision paid off.
Hill worked on the production team for SportsCenter Australia, as well as the events team, resulting in becoming a lead for events such as MLB’s Sunday Night Baseball, the NBA and NFL Drafts, and the NFL’s Monday Night Football. All of which are considered ESPN’s largest live broadcasting events.
Looking to make her next career jump, Hill’s ambition led to her pleading her case and eventually getting the opportunity to cover the Super Bowl. Hill was asked to cover the event for the ESPN International Events team where she then produced content for the SportsCenter Australia’s social media on the side. Her content from the Super Bowl and a previous UFC event generated over 100,000 views, surpassing their normal viewership figures.
With no hindrance of tunnel vision on a single career path, Hill decided to use her social media success at the Super Bowl to see how she could continue to be an asset for ESPN. Through networking, she was promoted to her current position as a Content Associate for ESPN’s social media platforms. Hill now helps generate content for Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for accounts with millions of followers on the ESPN, SportsCenter, College Football Gameday, ESPN NFL, ESPN CFB, and ESPNW platforms.
Just a few months in, the move to the social media content team has provided Hill with everything she enjoys. Despite the fast-paced, pressure-packed nature of the job, she still has the ability to be creative, write, and even edit videos for all platforms. Hill is eager to continue her journey with the worldwide leader in sports.
“If I had any advice for a student not knowing what their ‘next’ is, just say ‘YES.’ You do not need to have everything figured out right now,” added Hill. “If you told me when I was a senior in high school that I would be living in Connecticut working for ESPN, I would tell you that’s the funniest thing I have ever heard.
“I just keep saying yes to every opportunity, utilized every moment in college to add skills to my tool belt, and even now in my career I know opportunities are endless for what is next. We are our worst critics and we don’t give ourselves enough credit, but don’t let that stop you from being something.”
All of it, the traveling to major sporting events, to generating content for millions of followers, is part of the story that began in Plain City, Ohio, and is just beginning for Sydney Hill, 2017 Jonathan Alder High School graduate, and daughter of a small town former Police Chief.