Where are they now?
Living a dream
Stacy Barnes
Setting the bar high is what Mustang High School graduate Trent Dick is all about. As a high school senior, Dick discovered what he wanted to do with his life while attending his first Dallas Cowboys football game.
“When I got there (Texas Stadium) and saw that I knew then that during the week, whatever I did, I wanted it to contribute to that Sunday when 65,000 people filled that stadium,” Dick said.
So he set out to do just that. As a freshman at The University of Central Oklahoma, Dick says he started a notebook that would prove invaluable. He began calling the Dallas Cowboys organization, finding out names of key people and what department they were in. For three or four years, Dick says he called and talked to secretaries, asking to speak to the people in his notebook, keeping track of who came and went and making sure to contact them each several times throughout the year.
After three years at UCO, Dick transferred to Oklahoma State University where he took a job at the physical plant working for the janitorial staff, performing duties like inventorying parts and washing mop heads.
“It was a horrible job,” he said. “I hated it and I knew it wasn’t getting me where I wanted to go. So I went to Gallagher Iba Arena and introduced myself to everybody and asked them what I could do.”
No positions were available at that time, but nearly a year later, Dick got the call that one had opened up. He spent the 2005 season working as the equipment manager for the OSU Cowboys football team.
“It didn’t take long for my boss, Matt, to figure out I was a Dallas Cowboys fan and he asked if I would be interested in interning at Dallas,” said Dick. “Of course I was and Matt said, ‘if you do a good job for me this season I’ll recommend you for it.’”
That year, over Spring Break Dick decided it was time for some face-to-face meetings with the people he had been contacting over the years. So with notebook in hand, he set off for the Dallas Cowboys headquarters with no interviews or meetings scheduled.
Arriving unannounced, Dick says he hit the main office and began spouting off names.
“I had my notepad and the secretary was just paging everybody on the list,” Dick said. “Most were too busy to meet with me, but one man, Bruce Mays, the operations manager came and showed me around and introduced me to some of the people on my list. Some of them said they remembered talking to me. He introduced me to Mike Kurowski (assistant equipment manager)."
That experience reinforced Dick’s desire to be part of the Dallas Cowboys organization and he went home more determined than ever.
“I knew I wanted to get a summer internship so as soon as the OSU season wrapped up I started calling,” Dick said.
Things “fell into place” and by the summer of 2006 Dick had graduated from OSU with a double major in business and sports management and landed the job as a summer intern for Dallas. There he worked as the equipment manager for the Cowboys, a job that allowed him to work right alongside the players and coaches. Some of his duties included packing and unpacking the entire facility for camp and working directly with players on clothing, pads, and shoe adjustments, just to name a few.
“It was literally a dream come true,” Dick said. “It’s just like every kid’s dream, but I knew my work wasn’t done. ”
Dick spent the summer on the “socks and jocks” side of the operation working closely with players and coaches and putting faces with names in the hopes his summer internship would turn in to something more permanent, which it did. Just last week Dick learned he is hired as a full-time intern in the Dallas Cowboys marketing department, a job that has no official end attached.
“Right now there is a hiring freeze,” Dick said. “But if I do a good job and prove myself, I’ll get on when they start hiring again. The guy I’m working with was a full-time intern for three years before he was hired.”
Dick says he hopes it doesn’t take that long, but even if it does, he is thrilled to be right where he planned.
On Sunday he reached another goal as he shadowed his new boss, this time in a suit where he planned to “Schmooze” with the people watching Dallas beat the Washington Redskins from the suites. Working on the other side of the building with the “slacks” is another dream come true for the former Mustang resident.
“This whole experience is unbelievable,” Dick said. “My freshman year of college I wrote down my goals and signed and dated them. I wrote that I wanted to have a full-time position with the Dallas Cowboys by 2008. Even if I don’t get hired full time at least I’ve done it.”
Dick gives credit for much of his success to his family, some former bosses and at least one teacher in Mustang.
“My parents are unbelievable and Terry Barnett at Larry’s (Homeland), I learned so much from him every day. He taught me how to be detailed and thorough and Larry Anderson is just a great guy to work for,” said Dick of the bosses he worked with for six years. And of the teacher who taught him to “solve the problem,” Dick said: “One of the biggest influences on me was my teacher Mr. McGarry. He was my woodworking teacher for three years and my soccer coach for three years. He highly influenced me and is someone I will always remember.”
Living a dream
Stacy Barnes
Setting the bar high is what Mustang High School graduate Trent Dick is all about. As a high school senior, Dick discovered what he wanted to do with his life while attending his first Dallas Cowboys football game.
“When I got there (Texas Stadium) and saw that I knew then that during the week, whatever I did, I wanted it to contribute to that Sunday when 65,000 people filled that stadium,” Dick said.
So he set out to do just that. As a freshman at The University of Central Oklahoma, Dick says he started a notebook that would prove invaluable. He began calling the Dallas Cowboys organization, finding out names of key people and what department they were in. For three or four years, Dick says he called and talked to secretaries, asking to speak to the people in his notebook, keeping track of who came and went and making sure to contact them each several times throughout the year.
After three years at UCO, Dick transferred to Oklahoma State University where he took a job at the physical plant working for the janitorial staff, performing duties like inventorying parts and washing mop heads.
“It was a horrible job,” he said. “I hated it and I knew it wasn’t getting me where I wanted to go. So I went to Gallagher Iba Arena and introduced myself to everybody and asked them what I could do.”
No positions were available at that time, but nearly a year later, Dick got the call that one had opened up. He spent the 2005 season working as the equipment manager for the OSU Cowboys football team.
“It didn’t take long for my boss, Matt, to figure out I was a Dallas Cowboys fan and he asked if I would be interested in interning at Dallas,” said Dick. “Of course I was and Matt said, ‘if you do a good job for me this season I’ll recommend you for it.’”
That year, over Spring Break Dick decided it was time for some face-to-face meetings with the people he had been contacting over the years. So with notebook in hand, he set off for the Dallas Cowboys headquarters with no interviews or meetings scheduled.
Arriving unannounced, Dick says he hit the main office and began spouting off names.
“I had my notepad and the secretary was just paging everybody on the list,” Dick said. “Most were too busy to meet with me, but one man, Bruce Mays, the operations manager came and showed me around and introduced me to some of the people on my list. Some of them said they remembered talking to me. He introduced me to Mike Kurowski (assistant equipment manager)."
That experience reinforced Dick’s desire to be part of the Dallas Cowboys organization and he went home more determined than ever.
“I knew I wanted to get a summer internship so as soon as the OSU season wrapped up I started calling,” Dick said.
Things “fell into place” and by the summer of 2006 Dick had graduated from OSU with a double major in business and sports management and landed the job as a summer intern for Dallas. There he worked as the equipment manager for the Cowboys, a job that allowed him to work right alongside the players and coaches. Some of his duties included packing and unpacking the entire facility for camp and working directly with players on clothing, pads, and shoe adjustments, just to name a few.
“It was literally a dream come true,” Dick said. “It’s just like every kid’s dream, but I knew my work wasn’t done. ”
Dick spent the summer on the “socks and jocks” side of the operation working closely with players and coaches and putting faces with names in the hopes his summer internship would turn in to something more permanent, which it did. Just last week Dick learned he is hired as a full-time intern in the Dallas Cowboys marketing department, a job that has no official end attached.
“Right now there is a hiring freeze,” Dick said. “But if I do a good job and prove myself, I’ll get on when they start hiring again. The guy I’m working with was a full-time intern for three years before he was hired.”
Dick says he hopes it doesn’t take that long, but even if it does, he is thrilled to be right where he planned.
On Sunday he reached another goal as he shadowed his new boss, this time in a suit where he planned to “Schmooze” with the people watching Dallas beat the Washington Redskins from the suites. Working on the other side of the building with the “slacks” is another dream come true for the former Mustang resident.
“This whole experience is unbelievable,” Dick said. “My freshman year of college I wrote down my goals and signed and dated them. I wrote that I wanted to have a full-time position with the Dallas Cowboys by 2008. Even if I don’t get hired full time at least I’ve done it.”
Dick gives credit for much of his success to his family, some former bosses and at least one teacher in Mustang.
“My parents are unbelievable and Terry Barnett at Larry’s (Homeland), I learned so much from him every day. He taught me how to be detailed and thorough and Larry Anderson is just a great guy to work for,” said Dick of the bosses he worked with for six years. And of the teacher who taught him to “solve the problem,” Dick said: “One of the biggest influences on me was my teacher Mr. McGarry. He was my woodworking teacher for three years and my soccer coach for three years. He highly influenced me and is someone I will always remember.”
1 comments
Trent is my first-born grandchild. He was a wonder when he came into the world and the amazement has only grown bigger as he has grown. The world is better for him being in it and, no doubt, this is only the beginning!!! Go, big boy, go....the world is waiting!
XOXOXOXO
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