On The Sidelines — Kaitlyn Stratman and Diego Galicia’s Professional Success

DIEGO

Then eleven-year-old Diego Galicia plopped onto his couch with his iPad, logged in and tapped on the purple iMovie logo. He imported footage from his camera roll that he had shakily filmed of his family and mentally prepared himself for what at the time seemed like an eternity — the 15 minutes of editing the purposeless video.

Eight years older now — the couch has become a dorm bed, his iPad camera has become a Sony A7II and iMovie has become Premiere Pro.

East alumni Galicia is now working as a videographer for not only Mizzou Athletics, but also the NFL. His hobby for developed into a job of filming sports stars like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce after interning with TIKO Sports, a marketing company that provides NFL coverage to Spanish speaking audiences.

Through connections from his TIKO Sports internship where he helped read stats during NFL games, Galicia is now paid to create hype videos directly for the Chiefs and other NFL teams.

“I don’t know many 19 year-olds that have the ability to work for the NFL,” mother, Katie Castro said. “When I go tell people about it they’re just in awe and excited. He’s definitely a unique individual with a talent at a young age and presents himself in such a professional manner.”

In high school, Galicia was head video editor for The Harbinger. He made sports and feature videos weekly, which sparked his decision to make a career out of it. Now he makes at least one video per week for Mizzou and spends a separate six hours every few Sundays working on content for NFL teams.

“My boss sends me a giant shot list and asks to make sure I get footage of players like Mahomes and Kelce,” Galicia said. “I usually get the photos and videos and send them in to post right after the game. Honestly I just think it’s a really exciting experience.”

Now Galicia’s videos, after hours of work, can be seen on NFL Instagram pages for over 13 million people to see — making cheesy iMovies a thing of the past.

KAITLYN

Four hours before the “National Anthem” performance at the beginning of the Chiefs game, East alumni and Missouri State sophomore Kaitlyn Stratman pulled into the parking lot of Arrowhead Stadium. She slammed the door of the white company van — the one with “TIKO” written on the side — and fished her press pass out of her purse.

In the first sideline-shooting experience of her new internship, Stratman was joined with four professionals who work for TIKO Sports, a marketing company based in KC that provides sports coverage for Spanish speaking audiences. Her previous sideline-shooting experiences had come from East and Missouri State basketball games, but those were through the school. She didn’t just step onto the field — she had to take the steps to get there.   

Along with interning as a photographer for TIKO Sports — an opportunity she heard about through friend Diego Galicia —  Stratman is also the photo editor for Missouri State’s newspaper, The Standard. Weekends for her usually consist of shooting for a Missouri State game or wearing the brown NFL photographer vest and scouting out photo ops at a Chiefs game.

The day she was dropped off at college, Stratman had an interview with the college newspaper set up. Before her parents could even finish the three hour drive home, she had a job offer on staff.

“She was able to immediately have a place in college,” her mom, Suzanne Stratman said. “I’m so excited that it’s something she loves.”

It only took her halfway through her sophomore year to go from the a staff photographer to a photo editor. Her responsibilities include everything from hiring new photogs to working with designers to make sure the photos work.

“I’ve already learned so much about management being with other people and to be able to do that here in college is so exciting for me,” Stratman said. “Another great part about working as an editor is the opportunity to work in a fast-paced, professional environment.”

Although she likes shooting college sports, Stratman loves shooting for the Chiefs through TIKO Sports. The sea of red and yellow that fill the stadium has an energy that just isn’t found at Missouri State. Even with a negative wind chill and howling winds, the stands fill up with faces ready to be captured by a photographer like Stratman.

“[Arrowhead stadium] isn’t called the loudest stadium in the world for no reason,” Stratman said. “The energy and noise from the fans gets me really hyped up right when I step out onto the field.”

While on the field, Stratman is honed and locked into her camera while shooting. The noise of the crowd, the magnitude of the game — it’s all beyond her control, and she’s not worried about it. It’s all about her photos and improvement. She patiently finds the perfect spot behind the white sideline and waits for the boys in red and yellow to take her shot.

“I just need to keep working and shooting as much as possible to get to the next level,” Stratman said.