Colby Smith has been following his passion in the broadcast booth from a young age.
Colby has been broadcasting since he was in seventh grade. (Photo Courtesy: Colby Smith)
Oftentimes, people do not know what they want to do for a living when they are young or even in college. That was not the case for Dean College freshman Colby Smith.
Smith fell in love with sports broadcasting when he was in fifth grade and entered a contest called “Binghamton Senators Reporter” (Ottawa Senators AHL affiliate at the time) and was selected to attend practice, tour the locker rooms, experience a behind-the-scenes tour, and interview a player and coach. The Oneonta, New York native was able to meet their broadcaster at the time, Grady Whittenburg. Whittenburg invited Smith back for a game and was able to experience the early hours of showing up for a game and sitting in the press box during it. That was when Smith knew this was what he wanted to do when he got older.
Smith’s focus is to ultimately become a radio play-by-play announcer for a National Hockey League team. He has been calling games since he was in seventh grade, including from the high school level, college level, AAA baseball, and summer collegiate baseball. Smith also has experience with semi-pro football and lacrosse, has done a pro hockey internship, and worked with junior hockey leagues.
When it came time to look at colleges, Smith was looking for a small campus atmosphere. He instantly fell in love with Dean College due to the welcoming vibe and the partnerships with Kraft Sports, the Providence Bruins, and Junior Hockey Teams.
Smith gives a lot of credit to Professor John Rooke for the reason why he chose Dean. “He is one of the main reasons I am here. He was always communicating with me the past couple of years after I did his sports broadcasting camp virtually in 2020. He made me a lot of big offers with what Dean has to offer and was going to give me offers the moment I stepped on campus, which he has,” Smith talked about.
While Smith looked at larger schools like the University of Georgia, he ultimately chose Dean because there were more opportunities to get on the air during his freshman year. Whereas, at Georgia, he would not be able to get involved until his sophomore or junior year.
Adjusting to campus life has been difficult for Smith. “It has been one of the harder parts for me. I really did not think I would be communicating with my family daily. I communicate with them and my girlfriend every day,” Smith discussed. “It has been hard trying to adjust to campus life and knowing that it’s not just a hop, skip, and jump away from home,” Smith continued.
Smith has been busy on campus and has joined clubs like Dean News Network, The Dean Daily, and has run for student government and the Bulldog Spirit Organization. Smith has also been meeting lots of new people on campus.
Classes are off to a good start for Smith. He especially likes having Professor Vic Michaels and Professor Gregg Seibert and enjoys taking Digital Video Production I.
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