Alumni Spotlight: Lainey Caldwell

I became aware of WSU after I heard about the School of Digital Arts (SODA) program through a family friend. In high school, I was heavily involved in my school's broadcast group and loved the creative outlet it gave me. That involvement led to me deciding to go to school for film to make documentaries. A lot of the local schools I looked at only had film studies programs, meaning they weren't very hands on in creating films. That's where WSU's program stood out. I toured the studio and Justin showed me all that SODA had to offer and what students had been producing. It was the place I had been searching for.

 

Throughout my college career, my interest in film started to pivot. I moved away from my original documentary plans and started doing more fictional storytelling and got heavily involved in editing. Even then, my last summer in Wichita is when I truly found my passion. I worked with the Wichita Wind Surge doing scoreboard and stadium control room operations. That summer reminded me of my love of live sports and showed me a way to combine that with my love of content creation. So, after graduating, I was lucky to get a traineeship with the Kansas City Royals in my hometown.

 

I spent two seasons as their Video Scoreboard trainee, learning the ins and out of live event production and everything a control room can do. I got to learn everything from live replay to LED board controls to keeping the line score (even got my hands on a live camera a couple times). I also got some experience in programming within the control room. On top of all that, I got to use my video editing and graphic design skills to make content for the in-stadium LED boards. It was an opportunity I will never take for granted. Since the end of my traineeship in October of 2025, I have been doing freelance work for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Royals. I am getting ready to do some with Sporting Kansas City too. 

 

 

I have been out of college for over 2 years and I am still not where I want to be, which is okay! Anyone who works in professional sports will tell you it is hard to get into. It is a "right place, right time" kind of industry. I love getting to freelance and am grateful I got into it as soon as I did. However, I am still keeping my eye open for something full time. To me, as long as I continue to apply myself and make relations within my field I know a bigger opportunity will come.

 

My greatest accomplishment since graduating was seeing the first piece of content I made for the Royals go on to the 105 feet tall scoreboard for the first time, the board I grew up watching when going to games. It's a feeling I can't put into words. It's a feeling I keep chasing. Another big accomplishment was buying my first camera. I had always used SODA's equipment and then was using my mom's camera when I would need one post-grad. Now, it is pretty cool getting to have one I can call my own.

 

 

My biggest piece of advice I can give is to not make a strict timeline for yourself. It took me 5 months after graduating to get my traineeship. The camera I mentioned...I bought it 2 weeks ago. When I graduated, I thought by this point I would be full time with a sports team or film production company. Truth is, I don't mind where I'm at career-wise. I have learned to find comfort in the unknown and knowing things will work out how they should. Another word of advice is to apply and be open to as many opportunities and positions as you can, especially internships/traineeships.

 

My experience as a trainee allowed me to meet many people that connected me to other positions with teams. It also gave me experiences I never thought I would get, like working with Big Slick, the Savannah Bananas, and Homerun Derby X, as well as working postseason baseball and going to the IDEA sports entertainment conference in St. Louis. All that being said, I think as long as you keep an open mind and continue to learn and grow you will get to where you want to be. Growth doesn't have to be linear.

 

 

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