Good Sport
(Photo: Karsten Moran)
Nathaniel Maksymiw, Graduate Student, Sports Management, Florham Campus
By Mary Ann Bautista
He’s been on the soccer field as a player; the football field and the golf green as an intern; and graduate student Nathaniel Maksymiw is just getting started.
“I chose FDU because it allowed me to pursue my major in sports management with some great internship possibilities while playing the sport I love [for the Devils] and being close to home,” he says.
Maksymiw’s focus has not wavered since he started his FDU journey. After completing his BA in sports management in February 2026, he immediately pivoted into graduate course work.
He completed internships with the National Football League’s New York Jets and with an agency, Sports Sponsorships and Events Consulting (SSEC). As part of the Jets Game Day staff, he engaged with hundreds of fans and helped run Alumni Alley, where former Jets players interact with fans and sign autographs.
At SSEC, he worked on the business side of sports. “I conducted research to identify potential sales targets and created target outreach lists to secure meetings and pitch sponsorship programs,” he says.
He is currently a ticketing and accreditation intern at the United States Golf Association.
These internships allowed him to turn theory into practice, applying the things he learned from sports marketing and business courses in the real world.
Athletics play a huge part in Maksymiw’s daily life. “Balancing training, games and personal fitness along with academics was a challenge but getting an actual calendar helped,” he says. “Writing down everything I had to do each day helped me manage my classes and athletic activities.”
Even with a busy calendar, Maksymiw makes time to honor his heritage and champion his community. He has been involved with CYM, a Ukrainian American Youth Association, since age three.
There he learned about Ukrainian history and culture, and had the opportunity to travel to Ukraine and play soccer alongside fellow Ukrainian Americans on village fields and in Arena Lviv — the legendary stadium that hosted UEFA Euro 2012.
Since “graduating” from CYM at 17, he continues to be involved — from teaching the next generation of Ukrainian Americans about their heritage to being a soccer referee at regional sports camps. “CYM meant so much to me growing up,” he says.
As he continues his next chapter at FDU, Maksymiw is determined to honor the community that shaped him; his parents, Genia and Michael, who showed him how he could be the best version of himself; and FDU faculty members William Klika and Joseph Delchop, who provided him with a road map for a successful career. A devout Catholic, his faith also gives him the strength and confidence to go out and accomplish his goals.
“I’ve laid a great foundation and am excited to forge a path toward future excellence in the professional sports industry,” he says.
By blending his deep-rooted values with an ambitious vision for the future, he is not just chasing goals — he is defining success on his own terms, one purposeful stride at a time.