Esports: Leveling Up Teach-Out

Sabrina Wong is the Culture Program Specialist at Evil Geniuses.

Can you tell us a bit about your journey into your career as a cultural program specialist for Evil Geniuses?

Absolutely -- I started my esports career in high school, really. I began my career very consciously feeling “out-of-place”. The way people looked at me with curiosity at esports events made me realize that things needed to change for others to feel more comfortable and welcome in gaming and esports. From there, I was a social media manager, then a marketing manager, then a graphic designer. I faced all the trials and tribulations of “making it” from college and then-on, while getting my degree in college and building a brand-new collegiate esports organization. All of this culminated in me getting an internship in esports at Blizzard Entertainment in 2017, and then graduating college early to pursue my career -- a career I hoped would pave the way for other young girls and minorities to feel safe. After a few years working with esports communities and teams, I landed at Evil Geniuses In 2020, mid-pandemic, we made waves with the collegiate and education department and I was able to develop many young people just like me into full-time esports and gaming superstars.

What do you wish you knew early in your career that you know now?

There are a lot of things I wish I knew, but most importantly I wish I told myself to not let people trample over me. There are so many small moments where I remember being disregarded, talked over, and not getting the mentoring I needed at a young age, but that behavior was always played off as “That’s esports!”. I want to tell myself that no, that’s not how early esports needed to be. We can set the change and excellence we want to see just by speaking up and standing our ground.

As a Culture Program Specialist what does your job entail?

A lot of things! I like to explain it as a flexible role where I get to make cool things happen for cool people. I work under the education vertical, which means the bulk of my time is spent developing and growing the Genius League, our collegiate program. The secondary piece of my role is leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming here at Evil Geniuses, which includes our educational series Press Forward. And finally, I support merchandise strategy and product development here at EG which includes designing, producing, and marketing the SonicFox Plushie project!

Can you tell us more about the Genius League and your goals with building that program?

Of course. The Genius League started really as a passion project for me COVID had just hit, and I noticed so many peers and mentees in my space were in need of real, professional experience. Many of their internships had fallen through or gotten cancelled due to the pandemic, and many of them could not afford to relocate for other opportunities due to lockdown. Most importantly, they desired esports careers out of college, but this was their last summer before they were able to get any experience and graduate. I saw all these cases, and thought to myself: What did I need when I graduated college? And for me, what was most impactful was being able to work for esports organizations and gain professional experience that built not only my resume, but my repertoire as an endemic esports representative. I started doodling ideas, systems, and project plans and Evil Geniuses (thankfully) approved it! We started with 5 brand ambassadors with specializations in marketing, team management, data analytics, and tournament operations as well as 3 InGenius Creators who work with design, content, and graphics. We now have had 18 Interns and 7 InGenius Creators in the full year of Genius League existence, and many of them converted to full-time employees here at Evil Geniuses or at other companies such as Riot Games. I am so proud to have been able to be given the opportunity to make the best development pipeline for collegiate students in esports and gaming.

What is Evil Geniuses Press Forward?

Press Forward is both our ethos here at Evil Geniuses, as well as  our educational summit series with clear focus on resourcing information to make diversity, equity, and inclusion information accessible to all.

How do you think outreach and education can encourage diversity in esports?

I’ve done over 100 different panels and speaking opportunities across the nation in my career, mostly on-topics with finding solutions about the big, big topic of “Diversity”. I would say every single one was with a full room -- and always, an incredibly diverse audience. That said, I truly think people WANT to be better and make their own spaces better - but don’t feel empowered with either the knowledge or position to speak up and make the change necessary. We can change that by making talking about diversity needs more comfortable, and providing the right people with the correct tools, education, and content that will help enable them to make an impact in their own communities!

What are some of the most pressing issues in esports today?

If I had to pinpoint a few, I think that we straight-up need more BIPOC people in esports - the lack of representation in the esports business is astounding, and quite frankly a big reason why a lot of young folk do not feel like esports is accessible to them. I would say the second most important issue to tackle would be making competitive gaming more accessible to all: regardless of financial status, physical health, etc. Anyone and everyone is a gamer - whether they play board games, mobile games, console games, or PC games. What we need to do is make being a full-time competitive gamer open to anyone, not just people who can afford taking the risk.

For someone who is interested or has a child who is interested in getting into esports today, what tips would you provide and what resources would you recommend they explore?

I have different answers for different experiences! If you are a college student looking to get involved with esports, I would definitely recommend joining our resource and community hub, the Genius League. All resources are completely free, and we regularly host events such as free Resume Reviews and Genius Seminars with top-industry leaders and mentors.

If you're a parent, I implore you to check out our Genius Summits and educational pieces that help equip parents, teachers, and leaders alike to understand and support their children by understanding alternative, game-ified ways to help their child develop as they grow, as well as support their dreams.

Finally, if you’re just someone who generally wants to get a head start in esports and gaming, I would really recommend the Evil Geniuses LinkedIn page. There’s always great excerpts, articles, highlights, and more about esports and gaming -- and so much valuable information on community partners and external programs alike to get your start!