Friday, May 18, 2018

Part of a regular series.

Throughout the year, GNACsports.com uses this space to profile conference student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. Collectively, it is these individuals who make the GNAC one of the top NCAA Division II athletic conferences in the nation. 

Name: Rhys Lendio
Conference: Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Title: Media Relations Assistant
Years In Current Position: 9 Months
Hometown: Lahaina, Hawaii

Colleges Attended & Degrees: Linfield College (Undergraduate, Business Management with minor in Media Studies)

Why Did You Decide To Work In Collegiate Athletics: As a former collegiate athlete, I wanted to continue working in the sports field. I enjoyed writing game recaps and features during my work-study job at Linfield.

Who Has Influenced You The Most As A Professional - Either As An Inspiration, A Mentor, Or Philosophically: Linfield's sports information director, Kelly Bird, sparked my interest in the field. He provided me with great sports information experience during my time at Linfield and was a big reason why I decided to apply for the GNAC position. Blake Timm has also been a great mentor and friend during my time with the GNAC.

Biggest Obstacle Overcome As A Professional: Not much so far, but getting familiar with Stat Crew (statistics software) was a tough challenge at first.

Favorite Part Of Your Job: My favorite part about my job is being able to work closely with other institutions in order to promote the student-athletes. Since I love sports, being able to cover a variety of events and teams is something that I find great joy in.

What Does Division II Mean To You: It means that student-athletes have the chance to earn a great education while playing the sport they love at a high-level.

Extracurricular Activities: Gym, playing soccer, hiking, beating my roommate in 2k (daily).

Best Advice You’d Give To Student-Athletes: Don't be afraid to pursue your dreams (career or athletically) - the hard work will pay off.

If You Could Spend The Day With One Person (Past Or Present), Who Would It Be: Lionel Messi. I'd like to spend a typical day with him in Catalonia. The man is pure brilliance.

Favorite Sports Team: Liverpool FC, Portland Trail Blazers

Favorite Athlete: Roberto Firmino, CJ McCollum

Most Memorable Sports-Related Moment: Playing against the Portland Pilots at Merlo Field during my sophomore year. It was a game that was played in front of a record crowd of over 4,000. We lost 4-0 and I think we had possession of the ball about 20 percent of the time.