Emma Ann Elizabeth Lay

I attribute my success to the incredible mentors I've had in my life. My former college coach, Chuck Rey, who is now the athletic director at Winthrop University, truly showed me how to balance family life and career. He always put family and Christian faith first, whether it was in practice or even in his career as an athletic director now. Everything that I can credit to finding that mindset comes from him. And then Larry Church, my boss at Grand Strand Juniors, is probably one of the best mentors I've ever had. He's been mentoring me since I was about 18, and he has never told me to shy away from anything but following exactly what my heart has led me to go. Getting the trust from my directors, who saw how much I had grown in my own integrity, leadership skills, and professionalism through college, is one of my proudest moments. They continue to trust me now to hold this administrative role within our club. At the end of the day, I just want to make sure that these kids that I work with are getting the recognition they deserve in their sport and in their life. I just want to work hard - that's all that fulfills my day.

The best career advice I've received came from my mentors who taught me to follow my heart and my faith. Larry Church, my boss at Grand Strand Juniors, has never told me to shy away from anything but following exactly what my heart has led me to go. And Chuck Rey, my former college coach and now athletic director at Winthrop University, showed me how to balance family life and career by always putting faith and family first, whether it was in practice or even in his career. That lesson about prioritizing what truly matters has been invaluable to me.

Follow your gut and follow your heart. I think sometimes we get so caught up in being this superstar career woman that we forget that we don't have to have it that way. One of the biggest reasons I decided to kind of take a step back from the sports journalism side and step into the more media, social media, communications side of things was because I wanted to raise a family one day. I was worried about trying to do that at the same time with a demanding career. But you don't have to choose - you can do both. You just need to be able to prioritize which comes first, and luckily I have people that are able to prioritize that for me as well. They know that when I want to start a family and settle down, that I can do so because of the flexibility they have given me in my job. My biggest piece of advice is to not shy away from wanting both worlds - your career and family - if the people you work for are allowing you to have that.

A key challenge in my field is balancing career ambitions with family planning, while a major opportunity lies in the flexibility of communications roles—like remote work and social media management—that allow professionals to integrate both successfully.

The values most important to me are holding integrity to its utmost and creating a family-like workspace. My workspace is truly a family, and I think sometimes we get so caught up in the paycheck and everything that we think matters so much, but at the end of the day, where you work and where you live - if that workspace upholds your morals and if you share the same morals, it's so much more important than the dollar signs on your salary. I also deeply value my faith as a Christian, which serves as a guiding light in my life and career decisions. At the end of the day, I just want to make sure that these kids that I work with are getting the recognition they deserve in their sport and in their life. Working hard and making a positive impact on others is what truly fulfills me.