SPIRE Academy continues to invest in career readiness through Building Your Brand Basics, a five-week professional development course designed to teach students how to build, communicate, and activate a personal brand beyond athletics.
Taught by Amy Liles, SPIRE’s head of partnerships, the course is offered twice annually during the fall and spring semesters and serves up to 30 students per session. The objective is to assist students interested in working with brands, sponsors, or personal brand marketing agents by teaching them how to identify opportunities, initiate contact, and confidently present their personal story.
Meeting once a week for two hours, the course emphasizes accountability and real-world application. Attendance and assignment completion are mandatory, mirroring professional expectations students will face beyond school and sport.
By the conclusion of the program, students walk away with a fully developed personal brand system, including a professional presentation deck, a refined elevator pitch, an aligned online presence, and active outreach to potential sponsors or partners.
The final class serves as a capstone experience, where students present their personal brand stories to an industry panel in a professional setting. The interactive format includes five-minute presentations followed by panel-led Q&A, allowing students to practice storytelling, receive real-time feedback, and build confidence in front of professionals.
Panelists represented a diverse range of industries and career pathways, including:
One notable connection emerged for SPIRE senior lacrosse player Philip Ford, who connected with Farmer regarding a potential apprenticeship opportunity. Ford, who is pursuing a career in underwater welding, was invited to explore hands-on experience through Farmer’s professional network in Georgia.
Several students received follow-up opportunities as a direct result of their presentations, reinforcing the course’s core message: preparation, communication, and relationships create opportunity.
“Teaching the Building Brand Basics course at SPIRE Academy was a tremendous experience” Liles said. “It was exciting to see our talented student athletes embrace and engage with the lessons over five sessions. I am thrilled that so many students were awarded internships, interviews and even more exciting opportunities at the final session.”
SPIRE Academy teaches personal brand building as a core life skill. Building Your Brand Basics demonstrates how storytelling, communication, and relationship-building can unlock opportunities far beyond sports, preparing student athletes not just for their next competition, but for life after it.
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