It’s a random Wednesday night in September. A group of 30 Michigan State students gather in a classroom with cookie platters and pizza boxes surrounding them. This isn’t a typical social club, however, it’s a group of women who are passionate about sports.
The Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM), is a national nonprofit founded in 1987 dedicated to supporting women in the sports media industry. After AWSM launched its student chapter program in 2011, MSU students formed a chapter in 2013, and it has consistently been successful– winning chapter of the year twice since its formation.
AWSM’s three main goals are to advocate for women in sports media, encourage equal access to opportunities in sports, and provide assistance to college students interested in sports media through mentorships, internships and scholarships.
Iliana Limón Romero is the current president of national AWSM. She volunteers her time to help the organization reach its goals.
“Once I was connected, I thought, wow, this [AWSM] is an amazing opportunity to be supportive and to continue to have unique conversations, and to work through issues that didn’t always present themselves,” Romero said. “I know that my career advance is a result of having all that support.”
Romero has worked in sports for over 15 years, and is the assistant managing editor for sports for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a part of the national AWSM board since 2020.
“I wanted to do everything I could to help extend the same opportunities for people who came behind me,” Romero said.
With recent threats to DEI – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – due to President Donald Trump’s administration, Romero explained that AWSM is heading into the unknown in terms of funding.
“It’s challenging for different companies that have had Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion departments that have directly collaborated with us – as the Federal government and the Trump administration have launched a really aggressive pushback that’s made it challenging for some of the people who typically support us financially,” Romero said.
However, Romero is confident that AWSM can overcome the possible financial challenges through collaboration and dedication to women’s sports – which has grown in popularity immensely in recent years.
“It is a great time for women’s sports. Right now there’s a great level of interest, and [there’s] just a desire to support women in all aspects of sports – that extends to sports media pretty naturally,” Romero said. “We have a lot of support in some directions, and we have some significant headwinds in the other directions.”
Ava Orcholski, a sophomore journalism major, joined AWSM almost immediately after starting at MSU. She knew that it was something she wanted to be a part of, as she has always wanted to work in sports.
“I feel like knowing familiar faces is super helpful, especially when I came into the school not knowing anyone as an out of state student,” Orcholski, a Buffalo, New York native, said.
AWSM is a way to learn more about the industry and to form a community. Orcholski said she has met some of her best friends through AWSM, and worries what could happen if the DEI changes affect the group.
“I feel like it would have a big effect if this club was taken away, because I think it's so important for women to stand by each other and be a bit a part of something bigger, especially in a male dominated field [like] sports,” Orcholski said.
Orcholski began her college career wanting to work in sports broadcasting and ultimately be a sideline reporter. However, after hearing from many professionals through AWSM panels, she began to truly find her passion in sports.
“I'm still learning about what I want to do and what I like, and definitely after hearing some of the people talk in AWSM that have similar stories and are going through similar things… I may want to be more on the business side of sports,” Orcholski said. “I even applied for the sports business management minor.”
Olivia Stanger, sophomore management major at Michigan State, had a similar experience; she began as an English major – but after being a part of AWSM, she realized that she wanted to work in sports.
Stanger appreciates how AWSM provides the opportunity to hear and learn from experienced women in the sports industry. MSU AWSM has had over 10 guest speakers and panels throughout the 2024-25 school year – a notable guest was ESPN reporter/host Laura Rutledge.
“I think having a place to talk about things that are relevant for women is especially helpful,” Stanger said. “It’s great to have people that I can talk to and relate to who share my career aspirations, and then also [meeting] the speakers and getting to hear all of their insights into the different areas of sports.”
Building a community of people who uplift and inspire women to pursue a career in sports is the main goal of AWSM, both at Michigan State and on the national level. Romero expressed National AWSM’s goals to continue to build on its success – especially when facing the challenges that accompany the current political climate.
“We are continuing to work aggressively to build one-on-one relationships, to encourage people to support AWSM,” Romero said. “We believe firmly that this organization can play a big role in simply supporting, providing mentorship… or support of sometimes something very material like a job opening, or we have a scholarship program.”
The national AWSM Scholarship program is an opportunity for chapter members around the country to earn a $1,000 scholarship as well as placement in an internship in the sports media industry. According to its official website, AWSM has placed over 200 female college students in summer internships since 1990.
The opportunities, connections and experiences that AWSM brings to women is what makes the organization so special.
“Sports media is definitely still a male dominated field, even there's definitely so many more women working in sports…I feel like like the reason because of that is because they're clubs like AWSM where you have a good solid group of women who are all working towards the same goal,” Orcholski said.