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Zach Howman joins SSI governing board to support student career readiness

November 16, 2025

Zach Howman joins SSI governing board to support student career readiness

Zach Howman

By Reilly Cahill

Zach Howman struggled with determining his career path in college.

“I changed my major three times before I found sports and really found something I was excited about,” Howman said.

Howman now serves as a senior career advisor for Buckeyes Careers, in which he connects with students one-on-one to offer career development support. This fall he joined the Sport and Society Initiative governing board, facilitating career readiness opportunities.

Howman earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management and marketing as well as a master’s degree in sports administration and business administration from Ohio University. Then, through his graduate assistantships, he got into career advising.

“Trying to kind of marry all of those things together was something that became really exciting for me,” Howman said.  

Howman said he believes his expertise in career advising and in the sports industry is an asset to SSI’s career readiness program.

“I’m hoping I can bring a lot of that to the table and help students guide them on their way for both internships, as well as career exploration and what parts of the sports industry people are interested in,” Howman said.

As part of the governing board, Howman is looking forward to being part of the conversations and decisions that impact SSI’s future.

“Being able to be on that board to help ideate and brainstorm ways to really move forward with this and provide students a really amazing resource and an opportunity to learn about this industry is a really great thing,” Howman said.

Howman is jumping in to help with SSI’s “Career Readiness Fair: So You Want a Career in Sports?” which takes place on Feb. 6, 2026. The event will feature career-focused guidance from people across the sports industry, including resume review, interview prep and networking.

“That’s a really big area that I work on in my current role as well,” Howman said. “Being able to step in and work with both the partners that we have, as well as with students and preparing them and being ready to talk to those employers and partners.”