For a few months, BG writers have been participating in a Twitter chat dedicated to raising awareness about South Asian Women in Sports, organized every second Wednesday of the month by Neha Contractor. In April, she conducted an interview with Pooja Kobawala Van Dyke, an influential South Asian woman in the entertainment and sports industry. The monthly Twitter chats are a great way for us to connect with many engaging and motivated individuals! Join us on Wed., May 14 for the next chat, “Power of Social Media,” at 9 p.m. EST.
by Neha Contractor
Originally appeared on South Asian Women in Sports:
After a couple months of topics for our South Asian women in sports community, I decided to change it up and bring a different format to the chat. An individual who is in the industry and well versed for a number of years was brought in to bring a different dynamic. In addition, it gave folks a way to connect with yet another South Asian female in the industry. She’s been working in the sports industry for almost 10 years!
April’s chat was with Pooja Kobawala Van Dyke, who is the senior manager at ESPN CreativeWorks. The conversation started off with learning more about who and what ESPN CreativeWorks is and does.
A1: ESPN CreativeWorks is a marketing branch at ESPN that serves as a full service idea center. #sawsports
— Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
A1: We deliver compelling and organic solutions- inspiring our fans to connect with advertisers in an authentic way. #SAWsports — Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
A1: It’s an internal agency at ESPN for advertisers. We know our fans the best- so we should be the ones helping our advertisers #sawsports
— Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
The path Pooja took to get to where she is today wouldn’t seem so “traditional” in a South Asian household. She has been in the sports industry since college, started off by working for the school paper.
a2:I went to The Ohio State U for school- worked for our school paper+covered the ’03 ChampionBucks. I became a huge sports fan. #sawsports — Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
And when asked what sent her down this path, she highlighted something I thought was very important, having family support. It’s very tough for South Asians to explain why they want to pursue a career in this field. Though, the more successful “Poojas” we have in the world the more success we’ll have as a community.
Q3: I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor or an engineer. :). My parents never pushed me in that way- they really supported me #sawsports
— Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
Not only did her success come from having support at home but also having a platform to prepare her for the real world and learn about the barriers minorities deal with. That platform was the South Asian Journalists Association.
A2: I was a part of this great group SAJA- south asians journalism assoc. where I met an ESPN recruiter! #sawsports — Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
Q4: SAJA is an awesome org for college folks. They prep you for real world experience, barriers that minorities have to deal w/ #sawsports
— Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
A4: If it werent for saja, I wouldnt be where I am today. Its platforms like these that really help network S.Asians #sawsports — Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
On those similar lines, when asked to tell us about other women focused platforms or conferences that we as women can tune into at ESPN for inspiration, Pooja responded with this:
A5: YES!@espnW is one of my fave brands @ ESPN. some of our most inspiring pieces come from there. 30 for 30/ Nine for Nine too #sawsports
— Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
Q5: Data hits the head, and narrative hits the heart– at ESPN, we like to think we do both of that. ESPNW hits that heart! #sawsports — Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
There is also the very powerful espnW Summit hosted every year for the last four years where females in the sports industry come together to share stories, ideas, and empower one another to become successful. This chat is doing the same on a smaller scale, it’s about looking after one another, sharing experiences and ideas on a platform everyone can go to.
#espnWsummit RT @NehaSoneji: Q6 are there women focused platforms or conferences that we as women can tune into for inspiration? #SAWSports
— Laura Suchoski (@soLaur) April 10, 2014
And finally, Pooja talked about how she attended SXSW this year and how creative the conference has become.
A8: SXSW is another one of those incredible conferences that I highly suggest everybody go to once in their life. #sawsports — Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
A8: This was their 1st yr launching SXSWSports. It was an incredible few days being surrounded by creatives – holy inspiration! #sawsports
— Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
As these chats continue the idea is to get many folks engaged, sharing stories and ideas with one another, and most importantly for everyone to get to know what each other is doing in the industry.
@BrownGirlMag having a forum like such to talk through challenges+celebrating successes amongst other SA women is empowering! #sawsports — Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
It was delightful chatting with Pooja about her thoughts and experiences in the sports industry! The next chat is scheduled for Wednesday, May 14 from 9 to 10 PM EST. Join in using #SAWSports!
Finally, I leave you with a tweet from Pooja that many of us can smile and chuckle about:
My Mom: What channel is the interview on? #sawsports
— Pooja Kobawala (@Brooklynpbjs) April 10, 2014
Feature Image Source: Pooja Kobawala Van Dyke
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