Why Esports

Why Esports?

Jeff Palumbo, Director of Esports – Palmer Hamilton

Watch our YouTube series of Jeff Palumbo interviews.

 

Palmer Hamilton’s recent expansion into the esports market may seem like a departure from cafeterias and common spaces. However, with a closer inspection of the fundamental building blocks of a Palmer Hamilton project, it is actually a perfect fit.

Winning Combo

One of Palmer Hamilton’s key differentiators is our full-service approach. We provide high-quality, durable furniture products, complemented by a strong design team, to enhance and beautify any room. With these resources available through a single point of contact, schools can create a cohesive environment that engages students and fosters a sense of community.

Creating a welcoming and engaging environment is a focus for the majority of schools I work with, and it is also a top priority for their students and community members. Like cafeterias and other common spaces, design and furniture are key components of achieving that goal in an esports space. However, the additional infrastructure needs of student engagement, and building competitive teams, while overlapping project-based learning and career opportunities take it a step further. Palmer Hamilton’s esports services are not just about creating a nice space, they are about providing the resources to develop a lasting program that students want to be a part of. This includes recommendations for equipment, training resources, operational management insights and ongoing advice to ensure success. As your subject matter expert, having worked with dozens of higher education and K-12 institutions, I offer the final piece of the esports puzzle, assisting your school with the end-to-end process of building or expanding a successful esports program.

 

What Esports Means to Me

Everyone’s journey in esports looks a little different, but the passion we all hold for the community is what brings us together. Yes, competition is usually part of gaming, but the games are just an activity that we all agree upon enjoying. When I was growing up, there wasn’t a place at school where my fellow  gamers and I could be ourselves. In fact, gaming was considered by most to be something that only “nerds” did unless it was a traditional sports title like Madden. Times have changed, and gaming is now an integral part of contemporary culture, but that doesn’t mean everyone accepts or understands that. At the most basic level, esports offer any student the opportunity to make friends and feel part of something bigger than themselves while being accepted for who they are.

However, through my years of working in esports and now with Palmer Hamilton, I am seeing the incredible progress that has been made in both the attitudes surrounding esports and the resources becoming available for it. More and more schools are onboarding esports environments where students are welcome to explore and develop their interests while also enjoying the health and wellness benefits of participating in extracurricular activities and introducing students to options they may not have had or known of previously.

Seeing the impact that Palmer Hamilton can have on a school’s esports program is what drives all of us to continue growing in this field. It has also inspired us to create a video series answering common questions about esports programs. The first three videos, which go even more in-depth about why esports are important to me, Palmer Hamilton and the schools we work with, are available now. I hope you enjoy them. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments, and we'll create more videos to address them.