Just four years ago, the class of 2019 threw their caps into the air in celebration of their high school graduation. It was a momentous achievement for all of these students who had worked so incredibly hard to receive their diplomas. Some say that their childhood is over when they graduate from high school, but for Redwood alum Sam Warren, when his cap was thrown, his childhood dream had just begun.

Warren was an outstanding football and baseball player for Redwood and had a strong passion for sports. His football coach, Allen Talley, loved his dedication to the game and his desire to win.

“He was a competitor. He came out every day and worked hard with his [teammates]. He was extremely coachable and a great guy to have on our side of the ball,” Talley said. 

Like many others, Warren’s original dream was to play in either the National Football League or Major League Baseball, and he worked every day to accomplish that goal.

During his four years at Redwood, Warren was a star, but the recruitment process prevented him from achieving those goals of playing in these professional leagues in the future. This led Warren to look for other ways to pursue his dreams. Fortunately, Warren found other passions in his life, his favorite being writing. Warren began his sophomore year taking the Nonfiction course and was a part of the Bark staff in his junior and senior years. He enjoyed writing about sports and as graduation approached, Warren decided that he would pursue journalism in college.

After graduating, Warren attended Syracuse University, where he majored in Newspaper and Online Journalism while also getting to walk on and compete as a wide receiver on the school’s football team.

“Everything was going my way. I was playing football in the fall and writing about [Syracuse] sports during the [offseason],” Warren said. 

As Warren spent more time at Syracuse, he took advantage of many opportunities that came his way. He wrote for the Syracuse student newspaper, The Daily Orange, and got the chance to write for Perfect Game USA and KGO-TV, a television station owned by the American Broadcasting Company, in his summers.

“Working with these [well-respected] media companies was amazing for me to get some professional experience. I made many connections, which could also help me with my future jobs,” Warren said. 

As time continued, Warren began building a name for himself in the Syracuse area. During the spring of his senior year, he served as a reporter for the Syracuse Mets, the New York Mets triple-A affiliate. He loved this position as it was a great chance for him to get started reporting within professional sports.

Finally, college graduation approached and Warren secured a summer sports intern job with the San Francisco Chronicle, fulfilling a lifelong aspiration of his to report for the teams that he grew up rooting for.

“When I got this [position], I felt like my hard work had paid off. Starting to write for the Chronicle really made it feel surreal,” Warren said. “I got to attend Bay Area sporting events as a press reporter, something I had always wanted to do.”

Warren has now completed his summer working for the Chronicle and learned many important lessons and experiences to help him fully develop his sports media career. He plans to move to Connecticut within the next few weeks to begin his full-time job as a behind-the-scenes production assistant with the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) Next program.

“Working for ESPN [after] growing up watching them has always been a [target] for me. To receive the opportunity to work for them was something that I couldn’t pass up,” Warren said.

As Warren continues his profession in the sports media industry, he gives credit back to where it all started.

“In high school, I was able to really begin my career. I learned important skills that have put me ahead at every level,” Warren said. “If it weren’t for Redwood, I don’t think I would be where I am now.”

Check out Sam Warren’s work for the Daily Orange here.

Check out Sam Warren’s work for the Syracuse Post-Standard here.

Check out Sam Warren’s work for the San Francisco Chronicle here.