Matt Arden has never strayed far from sports stories. From his start as an intern at WRC-TV Sports and “The George Michael Sports Machine” in Washington, DC, to his current position with the NBA 2K League, his career in creative media has thrived.

Arden, who graduated from Virginia Tech in 1999 with an interdisciplinary studies degree, merged his passion for history’s stories with professional writing.

“The liberal arts allow you to chase your passions,” he said. “I love history and all these wonderful nuggets of truth, which helped me to think about the way I write about and view the world.”

Arden also used his college years to get on-the-job training working with the university’s student media organizations. This led to his Washington, DC, experience in sports media.

“I wrangled internships by being a pest,” Arden says. “I got jobs because I asked for opportunities rather than waiting for them to come my way.”

After graduation, he worked for Virginia Tech Athletics, providing stories for HokieSports.com. Then he moved to Atlanta to work with CNN’s Sports Illustrated website. Several months later, Turner Sports recruited him as a production assistant and a late-night television personality. There he became a founding member of its Creative Services Sports Unit, where he spent five years refining his writing, producing, and directing skills, along with working with branded content. During that time, he won three Sports Emmy Awards.

In 2011, Arden moved to New York City, where he created and launched Screenvision Media’s creative studio, 40 Foot Solutions, which produces pre-show videos in movie theatres across the country. There he oversaw a roster of more than 150 national advertising clients, including Citizen’s Watch, for which he produced two mini-documentaries starring Virginia Tech students.

Arden’s newest position takes him back to his roots in athletics media. He is now the head of content and media for the newly launched NBA 2K League, the National Basketball Association’s professional competitive gaming platform.

And he continues to learn and thrive.

“I’m a firm believer that, with every job you take, you never really leave college,” he says. “You just stop paying a university to teach you stuff. Each job has been an incredible and creative learning opportunity.”