Bennet Newsome joins us today to talk about esports and gaming formal education, streaming, and how to use business education to make a career out of a passion. 

Bennet is the Director of Esports Growth & Development at Full Sail University, a Twitch partner passionate about community building and gaming, co-owner of whereisxur.com, and host of XurWatch on Twitch. Bennet is also a musician, a lifelong gamer, and a tireless advocate for promoting and facilitating opportunities in esports and gaming for high school and college students. 

In this episode, we delve into Bennett’s transition from music to esports and gaming, his journey as a facilitator and growth promoter in the gaming and esports space, and his evolution as a streamer and host. Bennett shares details of Full Sail’s programs in gaming and esports and the university’s approach to the industry’s business side.

We also talk about Bennett’s experience as a musician and the lessons he learned on the road that helped him in his role at Full Sail, his relationship with gaming and streaming, and much more. 

Resources:

Full Sail University website: https://www.fullsail.edu/.

Full Sail Armada website: https://armada.fullsail.edu/fortress

Where is Xur website: https://whereisxur.com/

XurWatch Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/xurwatch

Connect with Bennet on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennett-newsome-77467686/

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@damnitbennett

Twitter: https://twitter.com/damnitbennett?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Full Episode Breakdown:

2:58 – Bennett shares a bit about what Full Sail is doing in the gaming and esports space.

6:33 – Bennett describes the rising interest in the business side of esports and gaming among high school and college students.

11:41 – Bennett talks about his experience reaching out to Full Sail.

16:23 – Bennet shares some of the experiences and the tools acquired as a musician on the road that helped him improve in his current role at Full Sail.

21:27 – John and Bennett talk about the importance of trying out things to improve and turn a passion into a career. 

27:28 – Bennett explains Full Sail’s idea of creating content for students that is engaging and educational at the same time.

30:44 – John and Bennett discuss the best ways to apply business education to a passion project.

37:19 – Bennett talks about the games he’s currently playing and streaming on Twitch.

43:08 – Bennett talks about Full Sail’s esports and gaming programs.

45:30 – Bennett talks about the uniqueness of esports education and what can be learned and applied from traditional industries.

50:23 – Bennett talks about Full Sail’s Sportscasting Bachelor’s degree.

53:20 – Bennett shares some details of his show on Twitch. 
59:13 – John and Bennett discuss the different opportunities in esports and gaming and the importance of volunteering as a first step into the industry.