Kicking off our Alumni Spotlight Series: Athlete Edition is 2014 graduate and Gordon College Women's Basketball alumna, Clancey (Adams) Chapman. Elected captain her senior year, Chapman started 42 of 43 games during her junior and senior seasons. Off the court, she was named to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) All-Academic Team three times while double majoring in Recreation, Sport and Wellness (RSW) and Business Administration. Upon graduation from the College in 2014, she completed her masters in sports leadership at Northeastern University. A native of Simsbury, Connecticut, Chapman currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband, Tom, and works for the Las Vegas Raiders organization. 

Find out where life has taken Chapman since her time at 255 Grapevine.

Q. Describe your current job and career path.

A. My first opportunity in sports was at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona where I worked as a stadium operations & events intern. After I completed my internship, I moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to take a job at U.S. Bank Stadium as an event coordinator. In this role, I opened the Stadium and helped execute a variety of events including Super Bowl LII. I then worked for a large consumer show company called Marketplace Events for about a year before getting my current job with the Las Vegas Raiders as an event operations manager.  In my current role, I am part of the team that plans and executes all fan-facing events for the organization. During my time with the Raiders, I have had the opportunity to work on events that have positively impacted our community, fans, and internal staff. 
 

Q. What was your major(s) at Gordon and how has that helped you in your career?

A. I was a double major in Recreation, Sports & Wellness and Business Administration while at Gordon, and both majors helped me with my career. I do a lot of budgeting, cost savings, and overall P&L work, which my business classes definitely prepared me for. My RSW classes not only taught me about the different layers and levels of sports, but the presentations and research projects I did for my major were great practice for leading presentations and meetings in my current role. Not only were my majors helpful in terms of applicable knowledge, but also in my overall mindset with my career. I was really lucky to have professors in both majors who helped me keep an open mind and emphasized the importance of finding joy in what you do, which has definitely gotten me to where I am today.

Q. How did your time as a student-athlete at Gordon prepare you for your life/career?

A. While learning time management was definitely huge, I would say the biggest lesson I took away from my time at Gordon was to find a way to be a positive presence no matter the circumstances. There were times over my basketball career where I was injured or not hitting shots, so I had to look for other ways to contribute. I have had very similar experiences in my career, and having this mindset has greatly benefited me. When I was a stadium operations intern in Arizona, I was one of the only females on the team and couldn't lift a lot of the items the rest of my teammates could. Instead of sitting out, I looked for other ways to contribute and eventually found my niche where I could be a positive impact despite my physical limitations.  

Q. Who had the biggest influence on you during your career as a student-athlete at Gordon?

A. My teammates had a huge influence on me. I spent most of my time at Gordon with my teammates, which is very similar to my current career in sports. I learned how important it is to help foster an environment of trust and appreciation for everyone's different skill sets. No one can do it all and no one is perfect, and I am so thankful to have been a part of well-rounded teams where you can ask for help and rely on your teammates to have your back.

Q. What are one or two of your proudest professional or personal accomplishments that occurred after graduating from Gordon in which your education really played a role?

A. My proudest accomplishment is getting hired on with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders is an organization that truly embraces excellence, pride, and inclusivity, and I am grateful to be a part of the team. I am also very proud of opening U.S. Bank Stadium. Opening a venue was the most grueling thing I have ever done with 80-90 hour work weeks, but I could not have asked for a better learning experience. 

Q. What advice would you give to current student-athletes who want to make the most out of their experience at Gordon?

A. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and make connections! I spent a lot of time and energy networking to get my foot in the door in the sports world, which greatly paid off. While networking did not come naturally to me at first, it is such a great skill-set to have and truly can change the trajectory of your career. 



If you would like to nominate a former teammate, friend, family member, or even yourself, we want to hear from you! All you need to do is fill out a brief questionnaire below. You can find the Alumni Spotlight: Athlete Edition Questionnaire HERE.