Danielle Vollono said she has been obsessed with sports since she was a child, when her dad shared his love of the New York Giants with her. Now she gets to live her dream, working as the manager of sports operations and administration for FOX Sports. She previously worked for FOX 61, the Hartford Courant, and CBS Radio. She also did some freelance writing for the New York Giants. Vollono graduated from Southern in 2013 with a B.S. in Journalism.
What is it like to work at FOX Sports?
Working at FOX Sports is amazing; it’s been my dream job since middle school. Initially it was ESPN because I wanted to work for the number one sports network, which was ESPN at the time. Over time, that changed and that became FOX Sports. When I say my dream job, I don’t mean to sound corny. It’s literally my dream job. Everyone knows it. All my family, friends.
What has your career looked like before you ended up where you are at FOX Sports?
In college, I went for journalism. I interned at both Fox 61, a local channel in Hartford, and I interned at the Hartford Courant newspaper in Hartford. Those two paved the way to getting into media industry from there. I worked at CBS Radio, then Fox 61 ended up hiring me full time as well as the Hartford Courant. I worked at both of those locations after college, and then eventually FOX hired me. As of March, it will be nine years that I’ve been at FOX Sports.
What SCSU student media organizations were you in?
For SCSU TV, I sometimes anchored the sports segment of the show, which was amazing because it was run by Professor (Jerry) Dunklee at the time, and he just made it so much fun. And even my fellow students, my colleagues, were amazing too, so it was an awesome opportunity. I wasn’t officially a part of Southern News. However, I was a featured columnist. I wrote a lot of sports segments as well as some segments on our dance team, SPDC.
Where are your favorite places to travel for your job?
Definitely my favorite place was the Super Bowl, regardless of where it is. Because a lot of people I work with have been in the industry for 20, 30 years, they’re tired of traveling. They’ve been there, done that. And I’m like, really? This does not get old to me. Even if the Super Bowl is in Indianapolis and it’s 10 degrees, I love it. So I would say going back to Phoenix for that Super Bowl (LVII) was probably my favorite. To come back and be inside the stadium this time versus before when I was outside the stadium was a surreal moment.