“In terms of pursuing a creative path, it wasn't always a clear path for me,” admits Shawn Deloney. Today, Deloney serves as the Director of Content Strategy for an NBA team.
For Deloney, that journey started with a single question.
One Question That Changed Everything
After high school, Deloney knew he wanted to study chemical engineering; almost two years in, he realized that wasn’t where his passion lay. During a meeting with a Scottsdale Community College (SCC) advisor, she asked something simple: “What do you love?”
That question lit a spark. Deloney, an Arizona native, grew up with sports as part of his life. She suggested journalism as a career path, so Deloney began pursuing it with everything he had. He joined the college’s student newspaper as a sports writer and quickly assumed the role of sports editor, where his passion for storytelling took shape.
“That’s when I started to fall in love with editing, shooting, and being able to craft a story,” he said. The moment he completed his first video edit, something clicked. “I was like, ‘Oh, I like this. This is my thing.’”
The relationships Deloney built along the way were just as important as the skills he developed. “I met some people that really helped me craft my passion for me holistically,” he says. “I can honestly say without those interactions and those relationships, there’s no way I’d be where I am today.”
A No-Brainer Decision
Choosing a community college wasn’t a compromise for Deloney. It was a strategy.
“When I started looking at the community college option, it was kind of a no-brainer,” he shares. “Once you start to understand it’s the same education, the same opportunities, but it just became so much more affordable and realistic to me in a lot of different ways.”
He also knew it didn’t need to end there. With an extensive network of transfer partners, the door remained open for Deloney to earn a bachelor’s degree. SCC gave him the foundation to start and the freedom to grow.
From SCC to the NBA
In his role, Deloney draws on everything he learned at SCC: the instinct for a compelling story, the technical skills behind a camera, and the ability to connect people through authentic storytelling.
“I think storytelling is really powerful. The idea of being able to storytell in any realm is what helps me connect with people,” Deloney reflects. “You hear a story and go, ‘Hey, I can relate to that’”
Opportunity is Always There
Deloney’s story is about more than a career. It’s about what becomes possible when someone gives you a chance, and you take it. “The younger Shawn would not believe that this is the career path he chose,” he shares.
That’s exactly what Maricopa Community Colleges offers: an opportunity. Whether a student knows exactly what they want or is just beginning to ask questions, the system’s 10 colleges provide the support, resources, and a community to help them find their path. Learn more at maricopa.edu.