For Lexi Jaramillo, sports have always been more than a pastime. Growing up in Austin, Texas, she began playing soccer at just 4 years old, developing a lifelong connection to sports and competition. Years later, that passion would help point her toward a new professional goal: building a career where her passion for sports and leadership could intersect.
Lexi’s journey with Abilene Christian University (ACU) began well before she became an online graduate student. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Ministry and Vocation, focusing on vocational missions, with a minor in Spanish, from ACU in 2021. During her undergraduate years, Lexi was involved in a sorority and worked as a student employee, gaining experience with ticketing, behind-the-scenes media and other aspects of the sports industry. After graduation, Lexi remained in Abilene and began working with an optometrist.
“I love ACU. I’m always talking about ACU to others,” Lexi shared.
In 2024, Lexi returned home to Austin and worked in the optometry field. While she valued her professional experiences, she knew she wanted something different for her future. Sports had been part of her life for as long as she could remember, and she began searching for a graduate program that could help her turn that passion into a career.
Finding Her Path Through Sports Leadership
“I knew I wanted a career in sports, so I was looking for a program about sports leadership,” Lexi explained.
One day when Lexi was exploring her options, ACU’s online M.S. in Sports Leadership program appeared on her screen. “When I saw the program on my screen, I was like, this has to be a sign, and I applied.”
Returning to school after several years away initially brought Lexi some feelings of uncertainty. However, once she returned to the classroom, she found her rhythm. Her coursework has encouraged her to look beyond the mechanics of working in sports and consider what it means to lead others effectively. Classes focused on teamwork, self-leadership and personal development have challenged her to examine who she is, how she works with others and the type of leader she wants to become.
That reflection has been especially meaningful because Lexi sees leadership as something rooted in both personal growth and faith. Her goal is not simply to manage people, but to better understand how she can lead and serve others with God’s guidance.
Turning Coursework Into Real-World Experience
Lexi has already found opportunities to put lessons from the classroom into practice. It was through her program director that she learned about an opportunity to volunteer with FIFA. Her experience in hospitality and athletics helped prepare her for the opportunity, while her graduate coursework gave her a new perspective on the experience. Initially, when Lexi first applied to be a FIFA volunteer, she never heard back, but when her program director sent an email about Summer of Soccer, where she could work with V.I.P Hospitality, she knew this wasn’t an opportunity she could pass up.
Working through a hospitality company during the FIFA World Cup in Houston, Texas, exposed Lexi to some of the realities of coordinating major sporting events, including the moments of disorganization we don’t always see. Rather than viewing those challenges only as frustrations, Lexi began to consider them through the lens of what she was learning in her classes.
”Everything that I learned so far from my classes was always in the back of my mind during this internship,” Lexi said.
Lexi’s self-leadership and teamwork courses allowed her to look inward and do introspective work to determine and understand the type of leader she wanted to be. Another class explored the Enneagram; she identified as a Type Two, often described as “the helper,” while her self-leadership coursework challenged her to consider how caring for others also requires understanding and caring for herself.
“It helped me to realize how I cannot only help others but also help myself. I tend to put others before myself, but it’s okay to say no.”
For Lexi, those lessons have reinforced her desire to become a more thoughtful, self-aware leader who considers how decisions affect both her and those around her. Another aspect of her coursework that Lexi loves is the integration of faith and the Bible, even sharing that one of her most recent assignments focused on how Jesus led others and ways to honor that in the work today.
Bringing Faith, Leadership and Sports Together
As Lexi looks ahead, she can envision a career that brings together several parts of her story.
For one, she would love to serve as a chaplain or mentor to athletes, roles that could allow her background in Bible and ministry to complement her graduate education in sports leadership. She is particularly excited to begin building her career and hopes her future might include opportunities on an international stage.
With the hospitality company that she worked with for the Men’s FIFA World Cup, she would also love to work at the Women’s World Cup in Brazil or the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Lexi is focused on completing her program and moving into the workforce rather than pursuing another degree. She believes the next step is to take what she has learned and begin putting it into action
Lexi’s journey demonstrates that a career path doesn’t always have to be linear. From playing soccer as a child to studying the Bible and ministry, working in optometry and eventually returning to ACU to study sports leadership, each experience has helped her better understand what she wants for herself and her career. Through ACU’s online program, Lexi is learning to connect her passion for sports with a deeper understanding of leadership, teamwork, faith and personal growth. More importantly, she is discovering the kind of leader she wants to become.
As Lexi prepares for the next stage of her career, she is ready to take what she has learned beyond the classroom and into the world of sports. If you have the same passion for sport as Lexi and are interested in pursuing a higher education, visit our website for more information about ACU’s online programs.