Inspired by Friartown, communication major Caroline Austin ’26 pursues sports media career
Inspired by Friartown, communication major Caroline Austin ’26 pursues sports media career
By Sandy Coleman
Caroline Austin ’26 may have started falling in love with Providence College as early as 3 years old — long before she realized it. Her father, Tom Austin ’89, a longtime men’s basketball season ticket holder, brought her to nearly every home game from ages 3 to 18.
That father‑daughter bond became the foundation of her connection to the college and her future. It sparked her passion for basketball, showed her the power of community, and ultimately led her to major in communication and to pursue a career in sports media.
“I fell in love with the team, the camaraderie, and the community, and I wanted to be a part of it,” said Austin, who grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts. “In high school, I had a phase where I wanted to go south to a big college, but one day at a PC home game, I was sitting there and I felt so at home. It just felt like the place where I belonged. And, at the end of the day, I always say to people, that’s your deciding factor.”
That feeling inspired her to seek ways to transform her passion for PC into meaningful involvement on campus and beyond. She is a social media content creator for the PC Sports Information Office, covering events. She has interned at a local TV news station and worked as an event ambassador and corporate content creator for Kraft Sports + Entertainment, a division of the company that owns and manages the New England Patriots football team.
Driving to Friars games at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in downtown Providence in the same Jeep Grand Cherokee she rode to games in as a child, Austin puts her lifelong fandom to work creating social media posts that capture and spread the Friartown spirit. She presents live-game commentary, records the action, takes notes of highlights on her iPhone, and conducts post-game interviews with players. Her velvety rich voice exudes confidence on camera, and she connects easily with those she interviews.
Austin’s student-worker position with PC Athletics began during her first year at PC. Her networking with athletics staff members began at a Friars game even before she was officially admitted as a student. Her content appears on the main Instagram account for PC Athletics, @pcathletics.
“She came into our office as a first-year student looking to get involved with social media. She spent the first two years helping one of our student-workers record the weekly game videos. Once that student-worker graduated, it was a natural fit for her to step up into the role,” said Michael DeMars, coordinator of social media.
DeMars recalls a moment that showed her potential: “Caroline was doing a postgame interview with a student‑athlete who was only giving one‑word answers. She didn’t let it throw her off. She kept at it and eventually got more out of him. She didn’t think the interview went well, but I told her that happens sometimes — what mattered was that she handled it like a pro.”
Austin’s digital storytelling has evolved from helping with the weekly “What’s Up Friartown” series on Instagram to creating game-day content for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, and field hockey. She also does fan-focused features, promos, and previews that she shares on her Instagram account (@carolinemarymedia).
“My job at PC Athletics has taught me professionalism and helped me focus on post-grad goals,” said Austin.
Her long‑term dream is to become a sideline reporter for an NBA team. But she is equally excited about any opportunity that keeps her in the game of storytelling.
Austin’s drive for applying the knowledge acquired through her communication courses has led to several career-related experiences.
During the summer of 2025, she interned at NBC 10 (WJAR‑TV) in Cranston, Rhode Island, helping with coverage of high school sports, golf tournaments, and other events, including the New England Patriots media day practice. She also did research for stories, organized content, and edited videos.
“That was the best thing I ever could have done. I got so much experience in sports reporting and media, but in the television world, not just social media,” she said. “And Nicole Menner [NBC 10 sports anchor and reporter] continues to be an amazing mentor.”
Also that summer, Austin also was hired to be a New England Patriots event ambassador. Initially, she helped with fan engagement and setting up fan‑experience elements for the training camp, including inflatables, tents, signs, pods with memorabilia, photo ops, and activities. She worked her way into a content creator position, capturing images and video for corporate partner sponsors during Patriots home games during the 2025 season.
“The most important thing I have learned is adaptability — being able to get thrown into something and quickly learning,” Austin said. “I learned how to work with a professional camera, manage time, and handle a lot at once. I love staying busy.”
Describing the details of her experiences, Austin speeds through the details with the same joyful energy of her on-camera interviews and promos.
“I’m a talker,” she noted with laughter.
It took time for Austin to find the right major. Drawn to the creative side of business, she studied marketing before realizing that the curriculum, which incorporates accounting, statistics, and mathematics, was not the right fit. She switched from marketing to undecided to sociology and, eventually, chose communication, a major newly introduced by the college that best matched her interests and strengths. She minors in sociology.
“I started taking communication classes. I loved what I was learning, and I felt like I could apply it to my future,” she said. “Communications is so broad. At PC, you get a very well-rounded education that sets you up for anything you want to do in the communications field. I love that about the program.”
In addition to hard work, she credits her academic turnaround and renewed focus to supportive staff like Peter Palumbo, director of academic advising in the Student Success Center, and guidance from professors like Zachariah Wheeler, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of political science, who encouraged her confidence and creativity.
“My first class was Intro to Communication with Dr. Wheeler. I will always rave about Dr. Wheeler. He’s one of my favorite professors,” she said. “I made the Dean’s List in spring 2025! That was huge for me. I went from Cs and Ds to all As. It showed me that hard work does pay off. I’ve learned a lot — resilience and not to give up.”
In addition to Introduction to Communication, Austin has taken Wheeler’s Video Games: Artform and Industry course and is currently in his Media and Society class.
Wheeler describes Austin as an exceptionally committed and focused student, who is an enthusiastic participant in every class.
“What stands out the most to me about Caroline is her openness to new ideas and her support for a robust classroom culture. I admire the way she throws herself into unfamiliar topics, taking every opportunity to broaden her horizons,” Wheeler said. “This was especially clear in the Video Games class, where — even as a newcomer to the medium — she always came prepared to discuss the examples we studied in considerable depth.
“Caroline also values community and understands how it can transform a classroom. She is very confident engaging with peers in discussion, creating strong bonds in class that support everyone’s intellectual growth,” he said.
The professor, who is a 2025 teaching award recipient, sees a connection between Austin’s classroom work and the digital storytelling she does for PC Athletics.
“One of the central lessons in my communication classes is that media are tools for creating meaning through different forms of storytelling. We often study the exact details of how a medium can be used, to reach an audience and affect feelings or ideas through the power of aesthetics and narrative,” Wheeler said. “Caroline has excelled in these discussions, showing a firm grasp of the importance of these principles to multiple media industries and culture. This clearly shows in her work at PC, and I have no doubt it’ll help her grow further as she builds her career.”
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