What’s it Like Being a Graduate Assistant for Chatham Athletics?

Orion Moses, MComm ’24, poses for a photo in the Athletics and Fitness Center at Shadyside Campus. (Mick Stinelli)

Orion Moses, MComm ’24, has heard horror stories about control freak coaches in college sports. You won’t find them at Chatham University Athletics though. 

“I think with my colleagues and our coaches, I think that they’re pretty awesome,” he said. “They’re super passionate and they care about their programs.”

Moses is the sports information graduate assistant for Chatham Athletics. He’s one of the many graduate assistants—or GAs—who do critical work at Chatham while gaining experience in their desired career field.

“I just think this is what I’ve always wanted to do, you know? Writing about sports,” he said. “Just being at the games and having a department to support and be a fan for— it’s super fun.”

Moses knew he wanted to obtain a job that allowed him to write, particularly about athletics. He also wanted to stay close to home. “I’m a Pittsburgh kid,” he said. “I want to stay here as long as possible."

It was the graduate assistant job that drew him to study at Chatham. It gave him more responsibilities than he had at previous jobs, allowed him to work in sports media, gave him the opportunity to pursue a graduate-level degree, and could burnish his resume. It checked all the boxes.

Now more than a year into the position, Moses is getting a variety of experiences. In addition to updating the online schedules and rosters for Chatham’s teams, he writes news articles and game recaps on the Chatham Cougars website, makes videos and graphics for social media, develops scripts for announcers, and acts as a point of contact for certain teams.

“It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work that a lot of people—including myself before I was familiar with this stuff—that they wouldn’t really think about before a gameday,” Moses said.

He enjoys the creative aspects of the work, especially writing, a particular passion of his. Even something as little as a caption on a highlight video, he said, is satisfying to get just right. “I always take pride in that and have fun with that.”

All that work goes towards helping teams at Chatham get more recognition, especially in a year where the men’s basketball team won a title, the women’s basketball team set records, and the volleyball team competed in a conference championship. Moses said he enjoys the opportunity to highlight those accomplishments and work alongside his colleagues in Chatham Athletics.

“The coworkers of mine and the coaching staffs that we work with are very awesome,” he said. “I love them all. They make it fun.”