Brianna Tammaro '13, B.A. Communication
In May, Brianna Tammaro watched as members of the U.S. Paralympic Team visited a children's hospital in Charlotte, N.C. The athletes, in town promoting the upcoming Paralympic Trials, toured the hospital to chat with the kids and get them excited about Team USA. For two team members, the visit was a return home, as they had spent time in that very same hospital as children themselves. One even recognized a nurse who had helped him heal.
Seeing each other from opposite ends of a hallway, the nurse and elite athlete quickly embraced, bursting into joyful tears. For Tammaro, Paralympic communications coordinator at the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), moments like these never cease to bring a smile to her face.
"Everyone has a story, but it is pretty incredible hearing those of our athletes and seeing what they have overcome to accomplish amazing feats in their sports,” Tammaro said. “Having the opportunity to share those stories and bring awareness to their adversity and success is the most rewarding part of my job.”
As Paralympic communications coordinator, Tammaro is the communications liaison for the six Paralympic sports managed by the USOC. Those sports are track and field, swimming, cycling, Nordic and Alpine skiing, and snowboarding. Tammaro's duties include everything from content generation to media relations to competition and event support. A key responsibility is to educate the public about athletes' impairments and to bring awareness to the amazing physical abilities of these competitors.
When she first started, Tammaro faced a learning curve as she attempted to understand the nuances of athlete disabilities. At the USOC, athletes are divided into three separate impairment groups: physical, visual, and intellectual. Tammaro now considers herself an ambassador for the Paralympic Movement and says she continually learns through her friendships with the athletes themselves. A strong relationship with the athletes translates into a well conveyed story to the public, and to media outlets and sponsors as well.
Tammaro was introduced to the USOC through its FLAME program, or Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere. The initiative encourages undergraduates and graduate students of color to pursue meaningful careers with the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Since that summer in 2011, Tammaro made it her mission to join the USOC, interning in their meeting and event services department during the summer of 2012 and in digital media after graduation until she secured her current position. She is the first FLAME alumna to be hired full-time by the USOC, an honor she "takes great pride in." Nowadays, Tammaro serves on the FLAME planning committee and actively recruits Trinity talent to the program.
"It has been absolutely incredible to see the growth of the FLAME connection with Trinity and to watch students get exposed to the USOC," Tammaro says. "The program opened my eyes to a new world. Sometimes you think the Games just happen every four years, but that isn't true. The work is every day."
Come September, Tammaro will travel with the U.S. Paralympic Team to Rio de Janeiro and will act as a press officer for the track and field team. As the events unfold, she will produce previews and recaps, handle media requests between major primetime outlets as well as the hometown newspapers and radio stations of athletes, and disseminate information live via social media. Tammaro is excited to note that NBC has increased its broadcasting coverage of the Paralympic games from five hours in London to 66 hours in Rio. One hundred and seventy six countries will compete in 23 sports and 528 events. Tammaro, a communication major and sports management minor from San Antonio, says she is most excited to watch wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden compete in seven events as she aims to become the first athlete to sweep every distance from the 100-meter to the marathon at the Paralympics.
A former member of the Trinity women's soccer team, Tammaro considers herself very fortunate to watch athletes like McFadden compete in Rio. She says the skills she employs today where honed by the "versatile projects and work" she completed at Trinity.
"The best part of Trinity is that you become such a well-rounded student, with the ability to think critically and creatively," Tammaro says. "Whether it was Leadership for Sport Professionals, Interviewing in the Age of YouTube, or courses outside of my major, all of these classes equipped me with a valuable set of tools and gave me a better sense of my strengths."
As the countdown to Rio continues, Tammaro says there is nothing like supporting Team USA, "a team the whole nation can join around." At home in the backyard of the Garden of the Gods, Tammaro is well on her way to becoming as inspiring as the athletes whom she represents.
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