Lone Star College-Montgomery professor Rob Kreps practices what he preaches to his students. And he does so on the biggest stage in sports.
Kreps recently traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota during the Super Bowl to be the producer for U.S. Bank’s Possibilities Lounge, a high-tech, interactive exhibit that housed Super Bowl-related fan events and showcased the future of banking.
“Producer really means you are the jack of all trades,” said Kreps who is also the Program Director for the Live Entertainment Technology Program at LSC-Montgomery. “I was in charge of making sure everything happened on time and on budget. That meant I was doing everything from managing a crew to unloading trucks, or setting up a room, scenery or lights.”
The installation was part of Super Bowl Live, the weeklong party before the big game. Sponsors put on events for the residents of the Super Bowl host city and for all the fans traveling to see the game.
“U.S. Bank is headquartered in Minnesota and they have the naming rights to the Vikings’ stadium, so this was a very big event for them to show the community their support,” explained Kreps.
It is fun to be away, but Kreps says he looks forward to coming back and devising labs and projects for LSC-Montgomery students based on what he has seen in the field.
“I try to simulate situations that happened to me so students can solve the problem,” said Kreps. “I can not simulate everything, for example, the cold Minnesota weather, but I do what I can. It is really important to me to stay connected in the field so I know what the industry is doing right now. That way, I can make sure our students are ready to go out and immediately be a part of the industry.”
In case you were wondering, Kreps was rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I am glad the Eagles won, they deserved it.” said Kreps. “They played like a team and that reminds me that working in the entertainment business is a team sport as well. Every time I go to a different job, I go to a different team. I love it, I still love working in the field so I can reassure myself, ‘Yeah, I can still do this. I can still do the 80-hour workweek.’ I think it is important for my students so I am not just telling them to do this and that. Now I can tell them, ‘Hey, I am older than you and I still got it. I can go out and do this work and you can too.”
Lone Star College offers high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education to 99,000 students each semester. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area with an annual economic impact of $3.1 billion. LSC consists of six colleges, eight centers, two university centers, Lone Star Corporate College and LSC-Online. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.