Corbin’s Olivia Jones once made a name for herself on the soccer field by denying goals as a three-year starting goalkeeper for the Lady Hounds. These days, she is all about obtaining goals as a fast-rising audio production assistant working for major networks such as NBC and ESPN.
Recently, Jones received an Emmy Award for her contributions to the production of the 2023 NFL Draft, which was held in Kansas City, Mo. She served as an audio assistant on a team that was recognized by the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in the category of “outstanding technical team studio.”
Jones is a 2018 graduate of Corbin High School. She helped lead the Lady Hounds soccer team to three straight 13th Region championship titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2015 and 2017 the team advanced to the Elite Eight of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship Tournament.
After high school, Jones went to Asbury University in Wilmore to continue her athletic career. However, not long after arriving on campus, she sustained a severe concussion when a soccer ball collided with her head at high speed during practice. The injury forced her out of action for over a year, but as she explained, the experience ended up being a blessing in disguise.
“It’s a weird thing,” Jones said. “You don’t ever want to have a concussion, but it helped me to be more focused on school. I couldn’t control how long the concussion would last, but I could control how I handled school during that time.”
Jones said that she focused heavily on her studies during her recovery, adding that it was during this time that she began to discover exactly what she wanted to do for a professional career.
“I came back from the concussion right about the time that COVID hit,” Jones recalled. “I kind of felt like God was saying something to me, and wanting me to just focus on school instead of on soccer.”
It took Jones a little bit longer to completely realize what her path would be, but she eventually made the decision to leave the soccer team and focus all of her energy on studying and preparing for her life after school.
Jones had the unique opportunity to travel overseas in 2021 as part of a group of Asbury students who were chosen to help with the presentation of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. While there, she received hands-on experience with video and audio systems, working mainly at the event’s golf venue. She also got the chance to network and make connections with professionals in the field who would later be instrumental in helping her get onto production crews for major sporting events back in the states.
When an invitation to travel to Kansas City for last year’s NFL Draft presented itself, Jones jumped at the opportunity. She was able to assist the audio engineer at the event, running cables and setting up microphones. She was also integral in establishing reliable communications between people on camera and workers located inside the production truck. For her efforts, she and her teammates were selected to receive prestigious Sports Emmy trophies.
Jones still lives in Corbin, but she is constantly traveling to help with broadcasts of college football games, among other events. Earlier this year, she found herself in the role of lead assistant at the WNBA Draft in New York. Thanks to the inclusion of such megastars as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in this year’s draft class, it ended up being the WNBA’s most viewed draft of all time.
With a degree in media communications with an emphasis in audio production under her belt, not to mention an already-impressive resume that includes all of the above-mentioned accolades, Jones is hopeful of one day being able to sit in the engineer’s chair. Until then, she is enjoying all of the amazing experiences that her work is allowing her to have.
“It is an interesting job,” Jones said. “It is interesting to see the amount of thought and preparation that goes into these productions.”
Going back to her competitive days on the soccer field, Jones said that those experiences definitely helped her to get to where she is today. She said that her background in soccer has taught her what it’s like to be humble and overcome adversity. She said that some of the lessons learned about being adaptable and dealing with unexpected situations also carries over to what she is now doing in her professional career.
Most recently, Jones has traveled to Colorado, Florida, Texas, Arkansas and Virginia to work on college football broadcasts. She is looking forward to seeing where the job will take her next.
