Ken Cara visited Hazelton High School (PA) softball practice in 2015 with his fingers crossed. He was hoping one of the players would be willing to interview her teammates for Cara’s Internet sports show.
“I said, ‘Does anyone want to host a segment?'” Cara recalls. One player quickly stepped forward and stated, “I got this.”
Maria Trivelpiece hasn’t stopped talking sports since. Her newest opportunity is covering NCAA athletics as a Sports Multi-Media Journalist for the Patriot League.
“I will be hosting interviews and preview shows in the Patriot League studio,” she says. “I will also be working on long-form feature stories on student-athletes across the Patriot League and covering championships.”
Sports background
Trivelpiece’s own athletic career will serve her well. She was a team captain and all-conference softball player at Fordham University.
“[It] has been a career goal of mine to work my way back into the realm. Having the opportunity to tell long form feature stories and still do on-camera work is so exciting,” she enthuses.
The seed for Trivelpiece’s new opportunity was planted last year, before she was hired as a sports and news anchor/reporter at WAGM TV in Presque Isle, Maine in December.
“I established a connection at the Patriot League over a year ago,” she recounts. “I just made sure to keep in touch with them throughout my time in Maine. When the job opened up, they told me about it, and I applied. And after many interviews, I got it!!”
Relationship building
Trivelpiece credits relationship building and repetitions with helping her land the job. “I literally would not be here without connecting with people and staying in touch with them,” she states. “I also took a chance by taking a position in a smaller market where I could be on camera every single day. It forced me to get better and made me a little bit more qualified. I still have a lot of room to grow, but this improvement was so helpful.”
Creating genuine connections is Trivelpiece’s secret sauce for relationship building. “When you speak with people, actually get to know them as human beings. Be authentic. You want them to care about you as a human being and you should do the same.”
Organization is another key to Trivelpiece’s approach. “Keep a list of dates and emails you send. I have an Excel sheet that reminds me when to reach out to people — even family members because we never realize how fast time passes. I usually reach out via email.”
Varied experience
Trivelpiece’s path from Hazelton High to the Patriot League included many stops. She graduated from Fordham in 2019 with a B.A. in Journalism and Psychology. She then attended Syracuse for a year, where she earned a B.S. in Broadcast and Digital Journalism. After that, her work included freelance opportunities as a sideline reporter and color analyst for the Big East Digital Network/Fox Sports.
Now the former college softball standout is covering NCAA athletics. It’s a career path that Ken Cara could have predicted for Trivelpiece on the high school softball field six years ago.