After graduating from BSM, students are given many options to choose what their careers may be. Being sports writers for the Knight Errant boosted the careers of alumni: Will Whitmore (‘17) and Andrew Birkeland (‘14).

Will Whitmore joined the Knight Errant his senior year. “The Knight Errant was huge for me … it really sparked an interest that I could pursue,” Whitmore said.

While Whitmore was a senior, he wrote many sports stories including a piece on Derek Drees and the influence his father had on him. His most memorable story was about the BSM lacrosse team which ended up winning an award for the best sports story in Minnesota that year.

As an alum and current sophomore at Wisconsin, Whitmore writes for an online sports website called “Breakdown From the Bench” and is also a part of a sports podcast called “Beyond the Badgers”. “I cover a wide variety of sports but as of right now; I am primarily focused on the NBA and College Basketball,” Whitmore said.

At the end of this semester, Whitmore is applying to the school of journalism in hopes of pursuing his sports journalism career. “The best part of sports journalism is that you are writing about your passion. Even though an article can be a lot of work, it is so much fun to work on something you are passionate about. The hardest part is having to go outside of your comfort zone and put yourself out there in order to make connections,” Whitmore said.

Another alum and former KE journalist Andrew Birkeland wrote for the Knight Errant during his junior and senior years also focusing on sports and ended up becoming a sports editor alongside Thomas Muenzberg during his senior year. “It was great being part of the editor team and helping produce the newspaper,” Birkeland said.

While the BSM girls’ soccer team won back-to-back state titles, he got to attend and sit in the press box back in the Metrodome and cover their notorious run. “I have always enjoyed sports and the journalism program at BSM gave me a chance to get involved and cover sports,” Birkeland said.

After graduating BSM, he didn’t choose to go down the journalism path at Creighton, and the teamwork and communication skills he practiced with the Knight Errant have helped him immensely in the business world. Birkeland is currently a graduate student at Creighton University where he is completing his Masters of Accounting to sit for the CPA exam. He will be working at KPMG’s Minneapolis office starting in the summer months as their internal Adult and Enterprise Risk function.

“The best part of working in sports journalism, especially at BSM, is the events and people you get to meet. The Knight Errant plays a big part in making sure the lesser-known sports are covered and given the spotlight,” Birkeland said.