My name is Shane Connelly, and I am a writer, editor, social media manager and brand builder.

I’m a Penn State graduate (We Are), sports enthusiast, trading card collector and a guy with a passion for reading, writing and telling stories across media.

In my most recent full-time position, I served as a social media coordinator at Spotlight Sports Group. In my time developing the Pickswise social media channels, I pressed send on the brand’s most successful posts and honed my short-form content writing and social media optimization skills. The results speak for themselves, as Pickswise grew into one of the most-followed sports betting content brands in the world over the two-plus years I worked there before a company restructure cost me and my department our jobs in December 2023.

I learned of my passion for storytelling in my time at Penn State when I worked my way from reporter to head of the entire digital side of The Daily Collegian, the university’s independent, student-run media outlet. My stops on the way to becoming the digital managing editor included sports reporter and sports editor roles, where I got my first taste of the news cycle.

I was hooked.

The responsibility of being the go-to news source for Penn State’s smaller but successful sports, such as the men’s lacrosse team I covered for 3 years, added pressure but gave me a reason to own my beat. Advancing to my sports editor role required me to not only hunker down with my AP Stylebook, but also embrace a teaching role that only further helped me advance my own writing and leadership capabilities.

When the opportunity presented itself to work under the editor-in-chief and run the Collegian’s digital side, I jumped at it. I was blessed to get the opportunity, and it meant my senior year would keep me busier than ever. Constantly being looped into all of the happenings on campus and off proved challenging, but it ultimately was the most rewarding experience I had in my time at Penn State. Between the relationships built, the fantastic quality of content I oversaw and the endless lessons learned, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

With all of that experience behind me, I still feel as though I’m just getting started in the communications world. I am currently pursuing opportunities in copywriting, editing and marketing coordination. Please feel free to contact me with job opportunities!