Freelance Journalist Doubles As Sports Information Director

Ever since he was a kid, Shaheem Sutherland has been a sports fanatic.

“I’ve always been into sports. I played ever since I was a youth,” Sutherland said. “I played all the way up to college.

Sutherland’s love for athletics aided him in making his career choice. Today, the 25-year-old, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, serves as the sports information director at Miami Dade College.

“I met him when he first interviewed for the position. I thought Shaheem was well spoken, well dressed, very well-mannered,” said Alysia Dyer, the assistant director of athletics at MDC. “He came in with his own questions for the interview. His own notes. I thought he was very organized.”

At MDC, Sutherland writes articles for the athletics department that are featured on their website. The topics range from a feature on three former MDC baseball players selected in the Major League Baseball draft and two volleyball players from last year’s national championship team who are transferring to Columbia College.

He also organizes team pictures, updates website stats and rosters, manages the athletic department’s social media platforms, supervises the gameday production squad at each game and reaches out to media outlets for coverage.

“Being a sports information director involves being a sports reporter,” Sutherland said. “Covering sports, taking photos, adding stats on the website.”

Although he was born in Brooklyn, Sutherland is a local product of Miami-Dade County; he moved here when he was four-years-old. Sutherland attended Homestead Senior High School where he played varsity football and was part of the track team.

Sutherland then attended Florida Atlantic University where he tried out for the football team as a walk on. During his freshman season, the 5-foot-10-inch safety tore his meniscus, but Sutherland still managed to serve on the scout team for four years.   

In addition to his participation on the football team, Sutherland worked at the FAU Owl Radio station on campus and also secured a radio internship in West Palm Beach at Wild 95.5 where he participated in a sports segment.

After graduating from FAU with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Sutherland sought a job in sports media and stumbled upon an opening as a part-time sports information director at MDC. He started the position in February of 2015.

“He stays calm, cool and collected,” said Lady Sharks Head Softball Coach Gina De Agüero. “He really tries to help out the teams as much as possible.”

In 2016, after a year of being at MDC, Sutherland graduated from Full Sail University with a master of arts degree in new media journalism.

“When I got my masters in new media journalism, I learned a lot,” Sutherland said.

Outside of his job at MDC, Sutherland is also a freelance sports journalist. He has his own website and covers a variety of sports, in and outside of the college.

“I interview athletes or people in the sports world about various topics that people can relate to,” Sutherland said.

Sometime in the future, Sutherland hopes to continue his career in sports journalism as a print or broadcast sports reporter.

“I always knew I wanted to be a sports reporter,” Sutherland said.