Two Warriors, one team: How Wayne State paved the way to the Pistons

Wayne State alumnus Toheeb Bello credits the university's faculty mentorship, networking opportunities and career preparation with helping him turn his passion for sports into a career with the Detroit Pistons.

What does it take to get from a Wayne State University classroom to a career in professional sports?

For alumni Savannah Strawter and Toheeb Bello, the paths looked different but started with the same foundation at Wayne State: faculty mentors who invested in their success, internships that offered real-world experience and a strong network that helped them turn their interests into careers.

Today, both work behind the scenes for the Detroit Pistons. Strawter works in public relations for the team, while Bello connects schools, businesses and community organizations with the Pistons as a group sales executive. Their careers illustrate how Wayne State can give students the skills, experiences and connections necessary to succeed in one of the city's most competitive industries.

Finding a new playbook for storytelling

Savannah Strawter arrived at Wayne State with her sights locked on one goal - a career in front of the camera. As a broadcast journalism student in the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, she sharpened her reporting and interviewing skills in the classroom, contributed to the university's student newspaper, The South End, and completed an internship at WDIV Local 4.

For Wayne State alumna Savannah Strawter, the experiences and connections she gained as a student helped pave the way to her career with the Detroit Pistons.

Along the way, Wayne State mentors helped her see her future differently. Retired professor Dr. Kim Piper-Aiken introduced her to public relations as another path and conversations with Professor Alicia Nails and Dr. Donyale Padgett helped her think more broadly about communications and the storyteller she wanted to become. Wayne State also recognized her hard work with the George M. and Mabel H. Slocum Scholarship in Journalism, giving her the support to explore public relations.

"Wayne State taught me not to box myself into one plan," Strawter said. "It pushed me to see what else was out there for me."

That exploration led Strawter to opportunities she never expected. After internships with the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons, she earned a full-time public relations role with the Pistons. Through these experiences, she found her niche in sports communications - relying daily on the same skills she first built at Wayne State.

Building on Warrior connections

For Toheeb Bello, Wayne State helped turn a lifelong love of sports into a career. Like his father and older sister, Bello came to Wayne State and earned a bachelor's in exercise and sport science through the College of Education. His studies built his understanding of athletic performance, while dedicated faculty prepared him for the business side of the industry.

Dr. Linda Jiménez, professor of exercise and sport science, helped him with networking strategies, guiding him to strengthen his LinkedIn profile and use TeamWork Online to pursue internships and career opportunities. At the same time, Dr. Candice Turner, deputy athletics director for WSU Athletics and instructor of sports and entertainment management, taught him to bring confidence and authenticity into every professional setting.

Toheeb Bello celebrates his Wayne State graduation, marking the beginning of a career journey that would eventually lead him to the Detroit Pistons.

"Wayne State taught me that opportunities don't just show up - you have to put yourself in position for them long before they happen," Bello said. "That's the advice I'd give any student - use every class, every professor and every internship to get ready for the moment you're not even thinking about yet, because it comes faster than you expect."

When Bello set his sights on a career with the Pistons, a fellow Warrior helped point him in the right direction. Wayne State alumna Gabrielle George, who worked in the Pistons' human resources department, encouraged him to build more experience before applying. Bello took that advice, landing an internship with the Atlanta Hawks, which gave him his first taste of working in professional sports. The role consisted of all sales training and development. That experience helped prepare him to eventually join the Pistons organization as an inside sales representative with the Motor City Cruise. From there, Bello earned a promotion to group sales executive with the Pistons. Today, his work extends beyond sales. Bello works with the Pistons Academy on youth basketball initiatives and leads the organization's annual HBCU x NPHC Night - opportunities that allow him to draw on the communication, networking and relationship-building skills he developed at Wayne State. Those ties will continue as Bellow plans to return to WSU for graduate school.

Carrying Wayne State forward

Strawter and Bello took different routes to the Pistons, but both credit their careers to opportunities they found at Wayne State, including faculty mentors, practical experiences and connections in Detroit sports. "Wayne State showed me that it's not just who you know," Bello said. "It's how you show what you know when you get the opportunity."

By Darlene A. White