Nicole Watkins, assistant athletic director for Sports Information, Marketing and Event Management, was awarded the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Sports Information Director of the Year for 2015-16 on July 19.

“It was really cool. What is neat about it is my colleagues in the field are the ones who vote on it, and for them to have that kind of respect for me so early in my career was really neat to see,” Watkins said.

Part of Watkins’ job is to promote PNW’s social media presence, which has seen an increase of 144 percent on Twitter, 253 percent on Instagram, and 117 percent on Facebook. Rick Costello, athletic director, said that this increase is due to Watkins ability to effectively manage the different social media platforms.

“She really has a good presence for us out there and really puts out some sharp-looking graphics,” Costello said.

Watkins joined PUC athletics in the summer of 2014 while in the midst of gaining her master’s degree in sports management at Indiana State University.

“I thought at the time I didn’t have enough experience. Even though I had a lot of journalism experience, I had only had about nine months of experience in the sports information office,” Watkins said.

Watkins received her bachelor’s degree in fine art photography from Western Michigan University and went on to work in the journalism field as a sports writer, photographer and sports editor in Michigan and Oregon before coming to PUC.

“Being on the other side of the coin as a former journalist and knowing if we want something in the paper, it has to get there before deadline also helps with getting PNW content in the local newspaper every day,” Watkins said. “I think I have a unique background and just have an eye for things, and you can’t necessarily train or teach that.”

Costello said that Watkins’ background has proved to be an asset to PNW athletics, and her ability to learn quickly has allowed her to excel at her position.

“I think she has come along as far as event management and charting all the statistics and really the more technical pieces of being a sports information director,” Costello said. “She had the talent as far as writing the stories and the graphics and the video pieces. It was really just learning the technical aspects, and she really has blossomed as far as that’s concerned.”

While at PNW, Watkins has taken on many new roles due to the unification of the athletic departments, the rebranding of the university’s athletic teams and the growth of the university.

“Trying to wrap my head around merging two athletic programs, in terms of records and stats, has been difficult,” Watkins said. “But being able to redevelop and redesign a website has been a great experience.”

Watkins played a major role in the development and design of the new Purdue Northwest Pride mascot, a task that she said pushed her outside of her creative comfort zone.

“I was a big part of the process of developing the mascot and the name and obviously rebranding our social media,” Watkins said. “It has been a process, and it’s not done yet, but to be able to see it come together has been rewarding.”

Watkins’ adamant support of the Pride mascot was rooted largely in how she wanted students to feel about PNW’s campus and athletic programs.

“I want the student athletes to see things that make them proud of what they’re doing and proud of their teammates, make them feel like what they’re doing is important. I think that is why we do what we do.”

Watkins’ focus remains on improving herself and PNW athletics.

“I want to continue to increase my skill-set. I think there is always something to learn,” Watkins said. “Keeping my eyes open for trends and pushing to get those things here.”