Student Spotlight: Zachary Satz

For Zach Satz, the Marketing Director for OU Esports and a senior art, technology and culture major in the College of Fine Arts, his experiences in OU Esports goes far beyond just gaming.

Satz found his love for Esports in his final year of high school.

“My senior year was the first year of the Overwatch League,” Satz said. “I went to some of (Dallas Fuel’s) in-person watch parties and thought ‘this is just so cool, these people getting to play games and the whole community coming together to support it’.”

From there, he discovered OU Esports, known at the time as the OU Esports Association, and reached out to it before he even came to the University of Oklahoma.

“I met with Mike and a couple of other leadership members at PAX South in January 2018,” Satz said. “(My dad and I) talked with Mike about what the plans at the time were, and it just enticed me.”

Through his years at the university, Satz joined multiple sectors of the program before finally settling in his current position as Marketing Director. Whether he found himself in competitive gameplay or under the membership of former News and Media Director Stingray Schuller, though, he has taken life lessons that will affect him beyond his time at OU.

“Freshman year, I played on the (Junior Varsity) Overwatch team, and that taught me how to work with a team,” Satz said. “I played sports in middle school and high school but I wasn’t as excited about it as I was when I was on the Overwatch team.”

“Sophomore year, with the News and Media team, working under Stingray was an awesome experience. Getting to see how other technologies work and getting to use more of that professional-grade equipment definitely has helped me learn.”

In his position as Marketing Director, which Satz has been in for 2 years, he has been able to continue learning, particularly skills that applied to his major and his communication minor.

“I definitely learned about having to market to all different demographics,” Satz said. “There’s very subtle differences that go into targeting each audience and it’s super interesting figuring out what those small changes are.”

Satz plans to bring all of these skills and lessons with him past his graduation. He plans to pursue his education further at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada to work towards a masters in digital media.

While he may be going far, Satz said he will continue to hold the OU Esports community close as an alumni.

“If I had to summarize (OU Esports) in one word it would have to be community,” Satz said. “I mean, we talk about it all the time: we’re open to everyone, and I fully believe that with all of my being.”