Celeste Gehring (1997 BACH MCOM) went from playing basketball at LSU to building a career in sports media, and now helps others reach their goals through her business, Visionary Building.
Celeste Gehring: From LSU Athlete to Visionary Coach
Recruited from her hometown of American Falls, Idaho, she came to LSU on a full scholarship to play forward for the LSU Women’s Basketball team.
“When I got recruited by LSU to play basketball, I met so many people from all around the world,” Gehring says. Along with eating gumbo and crawfish, she says these were experiences she never would have had at home.
While on the team, she became a two-time SEC Academic All-American and participated in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, where LSU advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
Lights, Camera, Leadership: From Intern to VP at FOX Sports
Gehring says LSU helped her to get her first internship as a CNN associate producer in Atlanta.
“These networking pieces to get into media and the sports industry, that’s what LSU really helped provide.”
After a year at her internship, she moved to Los Angeles, where she became a feed manager at FOX Sports Network. Eventually, she was promoted to vice president of production. While working at FOX, Gehring was a field producer and ran logistics for multiple Super Bowls and the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympics.
Gehring’s path and dream seemed clear, but she discovered that many people struggle to discern their purpose and goals.
“I wanted to help people get where they want to go.”
A New Playbook: Helping Others Build Their Vision
This inspired her to begin Visionary Building, a business where she coaches individuals on how to build their careers, lives, brands, or businesses using proven techniques, stories, and motivation. She describes her mission as igniting the power within people with a blueprint for success.
Gehring finds it important for people to take any opportunities that come their way.
“If that’s your dream, you have to go for it, because otherwise, you’re always going to wonder, and while you’re chasing your dream, you’re going to find something.”
She travels, leading workshops at media networks and universities. These interactive workshops help attendees build confidence and leave with an “elevator pitch.”
Besides her business, Gehring hosts two podcasts focused on women in sports: “Girl, How’d You Get That Gig?” which she hosts with sports journalist Amy Guitierrez, and the “Ladies Ball Podcast.” She published a book, Be You on Video, in 2022, in which she shares what she’s learned working in the media industry while showing how video can help you grow your business and revenue.
She said her time at LSU taught her the importance of organizing her time and mind. Her LSU memories include football games and dancing to Cajun music. As an LSU alumna, she adds, she can instantly connect with people worldwide.
“Louisiana just knows how to live,” Gehring says.
LSU alumna Elyse Marks (2010 BACH A&D) has worked at architecture and engineering firms in the New York City area that specialize in the restoration...
When Disney Imagineers began planning a new ride, "Tiana's Bayou Adventure," they consulted and collaborated with academics, musicians, and artists...
Networking is more than just exchanging business cards or adding connections online—it’s about building real relationships that create career...