Marvin Cornish is a busy man: the 2011 Entertainment Business master’s grad and military veteran is the director of protocol for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, the owner of The Cornish Group, and a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at Bowie State University. In a given week, he’s coordinating VIP visits to the VA’s Medical Center, giving a lecture on character development to college athletes, and introducing President Obama on national television. And when you ask him how he handles it all, he shows no signs of stress.
Marvin was a member of the United States Army, a radio DJ, and a director with the Department of Veterans Affairs before even enrolling at Full Sail in 2010. At the time, he was looking to get away from radio and into sports management.
“As I started going through my courses, I started focusing on the sports side of the entertainment business,” says Marvin, “because I started to grow tired of seeing athletes in the news for all of the wrong reasons.”
After graduating, Marvin founded The Cornish Group with the intent of teaching character development to middle and high school students. His belief was that the best way to build character in pro athletes was to work with them when they were younger. He also reconnected with his undergraduate alma mater, Bowie State University, and helped launch a similar character-building program there.
“I developed a method that highlights the four deterrents of students athletes: feeling of entitlement, social media misuse, relationship violence, and drug and alcohol use,” says Marvin, who works with Bowie State and other athletes on a regular basis throughout the year. “These can affect you personally, athletically, and academically, and they all seem to build off each other.”
Full Sail’s Entertainment Business master’s program gave Marvin a glimpse into how the entertainment and professional sports industries function, and he uses that knowledge today to help his student athletes prepare for a career in professional sports. He’s able to tell them what to look for in an agent, and adversely, what agents are looking for in a potential client.
If being a Director of Protocol and business owner wasn’t enough, Marvin also serves as an emcee for the Department of Veterans Affairs, thanks in part to his radio and broadcast background. His most recent gig: the host of the department’s annual Veterans’ Day Celebration, where he introduced President Obama.
Marvin introducing President Barack Obama to the crow at the Veteran’s Day Celebration held annually in Washington, D.C.
“Being a veteran myself, it’s nice to honor other veterans that have come before me,” says Marvin. “People ask me if I get nervous next to the President, but it’s kind of like being a professional athlete – you just focus on getting the job done.”
Marvin is passionate about every element of his professional presence: He loves working with athletes, teaching others about what the Department of Veterans Affairs does, and entertaining a crowd.
“When I was a radio DJ I felt like all the attention was on me. The minute I started doing more for others – focusing on character development – so many doors started opening,” says Marvin. “I found my niche – my passion – and when your work is something you really believe in, you’ll find the time to do it all.”